Golden Queen
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: She was a broken child, and he was a king from another time. They were never supposed to meet, much less fall in love. Yet due to the circumstances of fate, she summons him and becomes his Master in a war that has yet to come. Can their budding love break through her past, or will Gilgamesh end up all alone when the Fifth Grail War is over? Ko Gil/Fem Harry
1. Chapter 1

_**This is a Fem Harry/Gilgamesh pairing. If you don't like Gilgamesh, then you should probably avoid this one. As for him being somewhat OOC, there is a reasonable explanation for that. It says in the Wiki that his child self wasn't nearly as arrogant as his adult self, hence why he's not a total ass. Enjoy!**_

* * *

She was a broken, lost child. She had barely managed to escape that man who had brought her solely so he could kill her and leave her broken body in a country she had only just heard of.

He had tried to catch her, but she had practically jumped down the fire escape and down the multiple ladders from the third floor to the street. By the time he made it down to the bottom floor, she was long gone.

Breathing heavily, she looked around past her dirty black hair to the city she would inevitably be stuck in for the remainder of what was assuredly her short life. The horse and walrus were very clear that she only lived at their whim, and that it could change at any time.

She had long since given up on hope.

Wandering around the dead city, she noticed that many of the buildings where she was at had scorch marks, and that there were several areas where a fire had ravaged the place.

Leaning against a dirty wall, she looked around at her surroundings.

The place was filthy, but not at the level London had been at when she had first seen it.

"Hey girlie, how about coming with me?" leered a man.

She froze, and felt a power she only half-recognized that kept her safe flare at the sight of the man. He was dangerous, almost as bad as HE was when drunk and in one of those moods. She took a step back. The man took two towards her.

The power flared and latched onto the first thing it recognized within ten miles of her location...strangely it was in a church of all things, not that she knew that.

A light sprung from the darkened shadows of the alleyway, and the man was cut into pieces before he came too close.

Considering the fact that the one doing the cutting was an older male as well, her reaction could be excused.

She squeaked in fear, before ducking behind the first available hiding spot.

The man wore golden armor, and had crimson red eyes the color of blood. His hair spiked like fire, but it was a golden color. He seemed both surprised and very irritated at being brought so abruptly, only to find some drunken lecher and a small girl with dirty black hair there waiting.

He killed the lecher on principles, a mongrel like him wasn't worth living in his presence. The girl, however, he didn't know whether to kill her or let her live.

Seeing her frightened eyes, somehow he got the feeling it wasn't because of his sudden killing of the drunk.

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. Why was he getting more than a usual sensation of prana from this girl?

Carefully poking at it, he realized that the brat had somehow managed to not only _summon_ him outside of a Grail War (under Saber class no less) but that he was able to sense her mood as well. And that was very, very unusual.

Right now she was very frightened not because of what he had done to the drunk, but because of the fact he was an older male. He could guess why, after seeing the look of lust quickly switch to surprise on that drunk's face. This must not be the first time dealing with people like him.

Well the girl had piqued his interest enough that he was willing to go along with this, if only to find out what the hell was going on. And it would possibly mean getting out more, since that ass Kirei refused to let him wander around and forced him to stay in that boring as hell church which had become corrupted thanks to the priest inside.

It was a miracle that brat Rin hadn't picked up on the fact something was very wrong with the place by now, considering she had most of her magecraft lessons there.

Seeing no other alternative to gaining answers, he reluctantly took out one of his treasures and drank it.

His body shrank along with some of his memories, turning him roughly into a tall six-year-old boy. He could change back at any time, but this seemed like the easiest route to figuring out what was going on right now.

The tiny girl looked surprised at the sudden change, but seemed more willing to come near him.

"What's your name?" he finally asked. Ko-Gil (as he would have been known later during an accident with magic once the Fifth Grail was long over with in another time), looked at the girl with expectation.

"I don't have one," she said in English. She had an accent that was clearly British, which he only recognized from the rare times a Clock Tower mage was nearby.

"Family?"

She winced, then pulled back away from him. Clearly it was her family she was running from, and with good reason from her reaction.

"Where are you from then?"

"Surrey."

Gil sighed. Clearly she wasn't eager to return to England, and she definitely wasn't explaining how she came to Fuyuki. And from the way she reacted to him, he had serious doubts if she even _knew_ what magecraft was.

First things first though...he was going to get her in some proper clothes and cleaned up before they started figuring out what was going on.

* * *

It had taken some doing, but eventually he found an abandoned house with the water and electricity still running. He even managed to get some new clothes for her to wear, mostly by slipping though the bounded fields around the Tohsaka place and raiding the younger sister's (who had long since been given to the Matou family) closet. Rin never went in there and most of the outfits would fit the girl from how small she was.

Since he had been the Servant of the Tohsaka Master, he knew how to bypass most of the fields, and the others weren't even tuned to him. Rin wasn't aware he was still active, let alone how to fix the wards, and the ones that alerted her father to his presence were tuned to him specifically.

It was a major hole in her defenses, one he wasn't planning on telling her about.

The girl at least knew how to clean herself, and by the time he returned, he was very surprised to find that her hair which had been a dark black color had brightened into a rich red the color of bright flames. It complemented her bright emerald green eyes nicely.

She got dressed rather quickly and with the ease of long practice, as if she would get into trouble if she didn't.

Gil had the worst suspicion she had been heavily abused before she somehow summoned him under a different class than he had been stuck in.

Knowing that he would likely see the extent of the abuse through the dream cycle, he made sure she ate until she had enough and let her sleep in the first clean bed he could find.

After that he started making subtle inquiries about any recent English who came within the last week. He found the only Englishman in Fuyuki in his first try.

Vernon Dursley.

* * *

Dursley was not having a good week. After the little freak ran off, his client revealed that he had been interested in adopting the girl. With her gone, he suddenly had to leave Japan as they weren't the least bit interested in his drills.

Then another freak with red eyes had shown up and all but gutted him. He spilled everything he knew about the brat, having long since forgotten her real name. Why bother remembering it? Names were for good honest folk, not abominations like his so called niece.

Once that was over with, he found himself stuck in an uncivilized country after the freak had robbed him blind, only leaving him with his clothes on his back.

It would take him a month to finally find the first British consulate...nearly a hundred miles away. And another week to verify that he was in fact British and that his passport had been stolen.

He would never come back to Japan unless it was a matter of life or death, and would forever say that it was a land of savages when asked.

* * *

She woke up to the smell of cooking food. She was very surprised to find Gil (as he called himself) cooking breakfast.

"You're awake pretty early," he noted with surprise.

She looked at the food with something akin to surprise.

"Let me guess...you're the one who has to cook the food back home?" he said.

She nodded.

"How about we split the cooking duties?" he suggested.

She shrugged. She wasn't used to being this free. All her life, that she could remember at least, she had been a slave to that woman and her disgusting husband.

* * *

Fujimura Taiga was a very cheerful, if completely clueless girl. She was a world-class mooch, often going over to her neighbor's house to bum food off the man and his son. To be fair, Shiro was one of the best cooks she had ever seen.

However even she noticed something was off when she saw a young girl in ill-fitting clothes buying food...for the third time that week. Upon closer inspection revealed bruises and old scars. Seeing her flinch away from the older man at the cashier's place it didn't take a genius to figure out that the girl had been hurt by an adult.

Which was why Taiga started following the girl to her home, suspecting that she was being abused.

What she found infuriated her. The poor girl didn't have any parents, but was living in an abandoned home with another child! What she didn't know was that Gil had seen her outside the window and knew she wasn't a threat.

Thanks to Kirei he was well aware of who the Fujimura clan was, and that included the rather odd granddaughter of the clan Taiga. Hell, the only reason Kirei had taken an interest in them was because someone had been supplying the head of the clan with low-powered Mystic Codes that any human could operate. If he had known who it was, he would have killed the idiot Magus responsible.

Gil was in for a very...entertaining...reunion with one Kiritsugu Emiya this month.

A week after Taiga followed the girl home (she still didn't have a name, but Gil had been calling her Amethyst since she had a fascination with the purple jewels) Amy and Gil ended up inside the compound of the Fujimura clan.

Taiga had all but abducted them from the abandoned house...which was actually good timing as the water company wanted to know why that particular home had an increase in usage for the past few weeks.

She eventually dragged both children down to the Emiya household for free food.

Kiritsugu immediately stopped and stared at a much younger version of Gilgamesh along with a girl who was definitely a witch.

Gil blinked at Kiritsugu, then started cackling evilly.

He finally knew who was responsible for that jerk priest's headaches with the Fujimura clan. And the reaction to the ex-assassin seeing a younger version of the same Archer Servant who had tried to claim his own was hilarious.

"Dad, who's laughing?" asked his adopted son Shiro.

Kiritsugu pinched the bridge of his nose. This would require either lots of caffeine, liquor or aspirin...or a combination of all three.

Amethyst and Gil stayed overnight with Kiritsugu and Shiro, mostly because of how nervous Amy was around the yakuza men who carried guns everywhere.

* * *

Gil was outside with Kiritsugu while Amy helped Shiro with the dishes.

"How did you survive?" he demanded of the boy.

"Remember that crap that poured onto you before the fire? It gave me a physical body. Though _somehow_ that girl in there managed to summon me without any catalyst and as a Saber class to boot. Still haven't figured out how the hell that happened."

"And the reason you look Shiro's age?"

"Amy was heavily abused by an older man, one who is apparently married to her maternal aunt. The only way she would let me come anywhere near her was to drop a few decades or so until I looked like this. I'm stuck as her Servant until I figure out how the hell she managed to summon me without knowing what I am or anything about magic."

Kiritsugu looked at him in disbelief.

"Besides, I'm almost certain she's related in some way to Saber," he said.

"What?!"

"Take a good look at her eyes sometime. They're the same shape and color."

Later Kiritsugu did that, discreetly though, and realized Gil (as he insisted on being called) was correct. She had the same eyes as Arturia did.

Amy looked at Kiritsugu. She was given the choice of becoming the ward of Taiga...or the adopted child of Kiritsugu Emiya and Shiro's younger sister. Since she would be staying with Gil either way, she chose to stay in the more open Emiya house.

* * *

Gil went to Kiritsugu a few days later to tell him of a small issue that might come into play unless he worded his adoption right. The only issue was that he would have to take Amy with him at least once to prove that he did indeed have her under his roof.

"She's magical, but not Magus-born. Eventually the idiots in England will try to reclaim her, and with the curses killing you from the inside they might succeed."

"What do you suggest?"

"A few days in England to prove you are legally responsible as her new guardian with the wizard-born, and register her as a Japanese citizen. They can't touch her once that goes through, and from what I got from that fat man, her maternal aunt would be happy to sign the mundane paperwork as well."

"...Do you have any liquor that will get me drunk in a hurry?" he almost begged.

Gil handed over a wine bottle. It was one of his least expensive ones, but it was strong enough to kick an Irish drunk on his backside if he drank enough. He deemed Kiritsugu worthy of that much considering the headache he would be going through later.


	2. Chapter 2

It was an odd group that entered Gringotts. One was a sickly Magus (not wizard), one looked like a blond vampire with his red eyes (quickly dismissed as he wasn't bothered by the sun in the least), and two red haired children. One was a boy looking in awe of the open use of magic, the other a young girl who hid her hair under a ball cap with a Japanese logo on it. She stuck close to the red-eyed blond and beside the other boy.

The goblins raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. If the wizards hadn't picked up on what the majority of the group were, then they weren't about to enlighten them.

"Reason for visit?"

"I need to get an adoption cleared up," said Kiritsugu. Gil was there mostly so he could help Amy take control of her accounts, which he knew she had to have.

All Kiritsugu had to do was act as her legal and magical guardian. Gil would take care of the rest.

"Four doors down and on the left. Next!"

* * *

Sharpfang looked at the odd group curiously.

"Why would a Magus wish to adopt a witch?" he asked. The groups rarely if ever got along outside of business.

Kiritsugu gave Gil a look. He decided to explain.

"Amy, could you take off your cap for a minute?" he said.

Amethyst removed her cap. The goblin choked.

"Rowena Potter?!" he said in disbelief.

"Not any more," said Gil firmly.

Amy went closer to Gil.

"Could someone explain, please?" begged the goblin.

And so Gil explained about how Amy had somehow managed to contract him as her familiar, and how they had ended up in the care of Kiritsugu Emiya.

Finally the goblin asked why they had come.

"We need to make this adoption legal in both the mundane and magical side. That way she could take magic classes in Japan and never be picked up by the fools who left her with that family. As you can see, she really doesn't want to be back in England right now," said Gil.

The goblin noted that the Potter girl was unusually meek. She seemed practically glued to the blond's arm and stayed within reach of the other boy.

"I can hand you the paperwork. Fortunately Dumbledore believes his pawn to still be safely at her aunt's, otherwise he might try to stop this. What name shall we file this under?"

Kiritsugu finally spoke up. He had thought this over for a week and he decided that this would be the perfect chance to hide her.

"Kaede Amethyst Emiya. That way they'll never know she vanished from their radar," he said.

"We'll change her name and the vault label. Once that goes through we'll file the adoption papers at the Ministry. Now, do you want to do a check to see if any other issues might arise from the adoption?" asked the goblin.

"How about a heritage test, one that goes back to the first magical relative? I've had some suspicions about her ancestor, but it would be nice to have them confirmed," said Gil.

"Ability and heritage test. We'll take the fee straight from her account. How about the other child? I can sense his unusual magic from here," said Sharpfang.

Shiro looked eager to see if he had any real aptitude for magic.

An hour later, Amy was legally made Kiritsugu's adopted daughter (along with Shiro being her older brother). But it was the heritage test that had the goblins in an uproar.

Gil was right when he suspected her of being Arturia's descendant. He just wasn't expecting her to be related through _Mordred_ of all people.

The goblins were more in an uproar over the fact that the Potter girl was literally related to Ravenclaw. Lily had definitely known about it, but had kept her peace...aside from naming her daughter after the founder as a not-so-subtle hint. Despite contrary reports, James Potter wasn't related to Godric Gryffindor...but Remus Lupin was.

Not that he was aware of this, but as it turned out one of the children Godric had adopted during his life had the werewolf gene and had children...and since he had blood adopted them, they were considered his heirs in lieu of blood children. One of the stipulations to get the account was that they had to be a werewolf...but they couldn't go out and get bit deliberately just to gain the vault.

As a victim of Fenrir Greyback, Remus qualified. The fact he did his best to keep from hurting others during that time only meant he was allowed to keep the vault.

Another big thing was that the goblins registered her and Shiro in Japan...they had a branch there that they could use to access their vaults.

To the surprise of many, Shiro turned out to be Amy's cousin from her mother's side, twice removed.

Gil was registered as her familiar, and they left it at that. It was easier than explaining the Servant system of the Heaven's Feel tournament.

By the time they left England, Kiritsugu had a massive headache...one that was compounded by the fact that they had a run in with the infamous _Zelretch_ of all people while they shopped at a bookstore so Amy had something to read. He gave the girl something to keep, before leaving without warning.

Later inspection revealed it to be a graphic novel called _Chrono Crusade_, specifically a few volumes up to the point where they introduce Jewel Summoners. Kiritsugu could already see that his newly adopted daughter would have fun trying to recreate that particular magic.

* * *

A few months and several botched attempts to use his natural circuits later, Gil finally had enough of Shiro's rather poor attempts to learn magecraft and took matters into his own hands.

Specifically by handing him one of his not-so-rare jewels filled with prana and telling him to swallow it.

Shiro, once told by Kiritsugu that this was a less common method of awakening any natural circuits, swallowed the gem and was promptly knocked out by Gil.

The next morning he finds that his luck at reinforcement has shot up exponentially. He could now reinforce a simple rock.

Of course shortly before Amy's eighth birthday (she had been six when she accidentally summoned Gil) Kiritsugu found himself with the unique issue of having the Japanese Ministry approach him about the children's magical schooling. He kept shooting Gil evil looks for laughing at his predicament. It was, after all, the brat's fault that Shiro and Amy had been picked up by their magical sensors around Japan.

At least he didn't have to pay for it.

* * *

Shiro looked at Gil with surprise.

"How is it that you're taking the same classes as us when you look like you're ten?" he asked.

Gil hooked a thumb at Amy.

"Familiar. By law, a witch, wizard or magus may bring a bonded familiar so long as they are able to follow the rules. Since I am actually a Servant, and can understand human speech, I am allowed to join you two and defend Amethyst if need be."

"And the fact you aren't technically human?" he asked.

It didn't bother Shiro that Gil wasn't even human, since he occasionally managed to keep Taiga from huggling him to death after giving her food. Well that and he found it highly amusing to watch his adopted father get migraines from all the crap Gil dumped on him as the only 'adult' of the group.

Gil had entirely too much fun with that, and the fact was Kiritsugu would strangle him if he could get away with it.

Though the Servant did have a certain amount of enjoyment by helping the ex-assassin make things much more difficult for Kirei just because they could.

He now had an over-worked schedule trying to find the source of the Mystic Codes that now littered the city and no idea who the hell was behind it. One of Gil's treasures was a scrying mirror and the two had a great deal of amusement watching the priest tear his hair out trying to put an end to this.

His current belief was that an Apostle had settled in the town and was trying to gain more familiars...this was mostly because people kept mentioning red eyes and nothing else.

"Welcome to the Japanese Academy for Magic. You would be Shiro and Kaede yes?" said the older student.

For some reason most of the students were wearing something that greatly resembled shrine outfits. Red for the girls and blue for the boys. This was further emphasized by the fact that many had bows and arrows on their backs, or swords.

Shiro immediately fell in love with the place.

Amy stayed behind Gil. Despite being around caring people, she was still very shy and tended to hide behind the blond boy.

The older girl smiled at her.

"Shy are we?"

Gil repressed the desire to roll his eyes.

"Kaede was in an abusive home for several years, and only recently has started to come out of her shell. As such she has trouble being alone in the same room with any males older than thirteen," he said.

"We were informed of the abuse early. She'll be in mostly girl-only classes, barring the mixed ones where Shiro-san will be joining her. As her familiar you are free to join her in any class except the times that involve changing," she said with a frown.

"I tend to avoid the area if she's changing," said Gil flatly.

"Why don't we get you three sorted out. You can pick whichever classes interest you and we'll work out a schedule so you don't have to neglect your mundane education."

"Oh thank kami! I was afraid Taiga would maul me if I ended up having to drop out of the school!" said Shiro in relief.

Seeing the questioning look, Gil smirked as he explained.

"Shiro and Kaede have a surrogate older sister/guardian in the Fujimura yakuza group, specifically the granddaughter of the head of the family named Taiga. She takes education very seriously and plans to become a teacher with no connections to the criminal activity her family is known for...and she's an unrepentant mooch who comes over frequently to bum off meals," said Gil.

"Ah," said the other girl tactfully, not sure what to really say to that.

* * *

Tohsaka Rin was a Magus, born and bred. She was also the heir of the Tohsaka clan and the second owner of the lands that held the Grail War.

So finding out that her home was playing host to two wizards and a witch came as an unwelcome surprise.

It took her a week to find their home and an hour to get over the fact that her Father's Servant was now in the service of another and that Kiritsugu Emiya was still around.

Fortunately Gil was able to diffuse the situation by suggesting she join them in some of their magus classes...and have Kaede give her a bag of hard to find jewels to appease the tsundere.

On the plus side, they were now allowed to live in Fuyuki without having the Magus who owned the place kicking them out. On the downside, Rin now joined them in classes and tended to boss around two of the three children. She didn't bother with Gil because she knew he could and would ignore her orders.

At least now Amy had a girl her own age to be friends with...even if she preferred the timid Sakura Matou to the bossy Rin Tohsaka.

* * *

_Amethyst, age 11..._

"Is that an owl?" said Shiro.

"A horned owl to be exact. What's it doing here?" asked Kiritsugu.

For the past four years, Kiritsugu had been the subject of much curiosity among the magically inclined. Because of the nature of his curse, they had to transfer his mind and what was left of his magical crests into a new body, and the original was made into a test subject in hopes of finding a way to reverse the corruption of the Grail.

With the knowledge that the Grail would restart a little over ten years after he had destroyed it, Kiritsugu had dropped most of his objections to having his mind put in a new body built from his DNA. Plus there was every chance that he would see his daughter Illyasviel again.

Gil was the one to grab the letter. He scowled, before he reached into the Gate of Babylon for paper and pen. He wrote a quick missive in English and had the owl take it back.

"What was that about?"

"Take a look. But it would be better if Amy didn't touch it...damn thing has a port-key on it set to her signature."

"I thought post owls would only hand over the letter to it's recipient?" said Shiro. Kiritsugu was scowling at the letter though.

"In the case of familiars, if they have the intelligence then they can remove it in place of their Master. The owl saw I had her signature, so it let me take the letter," explained Gil.

"What's it for?" asked Shiro.

"It's her Hogwarts letter. Though judging by the books required alone and the fact they still used pewter cauldrons, there is no way in Enma's fiery hell I'm letting _any_ of you change schools," he said.

Shiro looked at the booklist and winced. Most of the texts were very outdated and the rest were only good in Europe, particularly the history one.

A few days later another owl appeared. Gil took it and removed the charm, having looked up the counter just in case.

"They don't know how to take no for an answer do they?" he said.

Kiritsugu scowled big time as he read the letter.

"_Dear Ms. Potter_

_ A representative will arrive at your residence to discuss your schooling on August 3rd. Please prepare accordingly..."_

"What do we do?" asked Shiro, having read over his father's shoulder.

"I'll send you two to school early while I deal with this nonsense. It would be better to confront them in an area full of magic users than to have them near mundane population in the event they try something."

Even after retiring from the game, Kiritsugu was still an ex-assassin and Magus-raised to boot. He wouldn't put it past the wizard to try something just because they didn't want to cause a scene with the neighbors.

Forcing them to go to the Japanese school to see Amy was just strategic planning. Not to mention gave them a major advantage in the event they attempted to steal her again.

* * *

The next morning Amy, Gil and Shiro immediately headed to class early. Taiga was disappointed to find out that they had gone to their special classes instead of regular school, since it meant she couldn't bum off breakfast.

Kiritsugu waited for whoever was unlucky enough to be sent to get the 'Girl-Who-Lived'.

He didn't have to wait long. Right before lunch he sensed someone crossing his boundary wards. He had his special gun in a place he could reach with ease...old habits died hard.

There were two people, and he had to suppress a groan at who was sent.

These idiots were worse than Magi when it came to being discreet!

"Get in here already! I don't need the yakuza down the street to see you!" he hissed at them.

He brought out mats for the outside (some had to be put together for the taller man) and some tea. It was bad enough he couldn't let the obvious half-giant into his house without worrying about holes in his thin floors.

The woman, who wore her hair in a strict bun and actual robes (which not even Magi would wear as that was far too old fashioned even for them) sat down awkwardly.

"Where is Rowena?" asked the woman.

"At school, with her brother and familiar. I sent them there early so they wouldn't be overwhelmed by you. Amy in particular would _not_ have reacted well to him," said Kiritsugu, looking at the half-giant.

"I am Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. This is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys."

"Emiya Kiritsugu...formerly known as the Magus Killer," he said bluntly.

Seeing her stiffen, he gave a mirthless smile.

"I'm retired."

"How did Rowena end up in Japan of all places?" asked McGonagall.

"From what I was told by her familiar, her _uncle_, and I use the term in the loosest of definitions, brought her here to murder her and get away with it. She narrowly escaped before he could try, and one of my neighbors happened to find her living in an abandoned house with her familiar Gil. She was given the option of living with the woman in question, or with me and my adopted son Shiro. She chose to stay here," said Kiritsugu, not mincing the story.

"Her...familiar?"

"There are certain spirits here in Japan that can be summoned as familiars...in this case she summoned what is known as a Servant, which is a familiar which primarily takes on human form."

"And where is Rowena?"

"At her school. Shiro, Gil and _Amethyst_ all attend a magical school which is run by a shrine the next town over. It's considered a cram school by the Japanese education system," said Kiritsugu.

"I would like to confirm that she is indeed happy here, and that she is already receiving quality magical education," said McGonagall.


	3. Chapter 3

Hagrid was having an unusual time in Japan. For one, everyone immediately figured out he wasn't human, but half-giant at first glance. For another, they clearly didn't care about it one whit. When he saw the mythical creatures class and the large amount of those with fangs or claws, well, he gravitated to the area rather quickly.

McGonagall let him go...she had no idea what the hell Dumbledore was smoking when he sent the man with her as escort. It had been hard enough getting through airport security and then finding a seat that would fit him. She eventually gave up and had him inside an expanded trunk with something to read, as there were no seats big enough for him.

He was so reimbursing her for this.

She saw a girl with bright red hair that outdid the Weasly family and green eyes spot her. Beside her was a blond boy with red eyes, and a red-haired boy with brown.

She blinked. The last time she checked, Rowena had _black_ hair and green eyes, not red.

"Amy, this is McGonagall from England," said Kiritsugu.

Amy tensed at the word England and immediately went to Gil's side. Shiro made a point of staying between the two.

Minerva was horrified that the girl believed she was a threat. Just what the bloody hell had the Dursleys done to her to make the daughter of James and Lily so timid and afraid of adults?!

McGonagall visited the classes in Japan...and left feeling distinctly overwhelmed.

Japan had a far better grasp of magical schooling than Hogwarts did and they didn't feel the need to hide magic from the normal people as much as the English did. In fact they hid in plain sight, something most of the graduates from Hogwarts wouldn't be able to do because they were so out of touch.

Most of their courses were so advanced that she had trouble understanding some of it. It made her ashamed to find out that what she would consider Mastery-level transfiguration was considered advanced.

Hagrid planned to move to Japan because they had figured out his heritage and said that his past wasn't of any concern to them since the wizards never bothered to do any real investigating.

Dumbledore was a nice man, but Hagrid had always felt cramped in that tiny house.

* * *

Dumbledore was beyond shocked when Minerva and Hagrid returned, only to have his deputy headmistress all but attack him in fury.

"You complete and utter _fool_!" she hissed.

"Whatever seems to be the problem Minerva?" asked Sprout.

"I have seen Rowena Potter, and thanks to you the girl is a complete wreck! Frankly I am glad she is not leaving Japan, because it is far better for her to be away from the snake pit that is the Ministry these days!" snarled McGonagall.

"What happened?" asked Flitwick.

And so she told them. Finding out that the girl-who-lived had been so abused that she couldn't be in the same room as adult men had come as quite the nasty shock. About the only relief they did have was that a female doctor had checked and the girl hadn't been violated, but from the amount of emotional trauma that was a moot point.

Even Snape would be hard pressed to view the Potter girl as James' daughter after hearing that.

"What of her familiar?" asked Dumbledore.

"Apparently in Japan there are things called Servants which are basically human spirits with certain abilities that act as familiars when summoned. Neither her adopted father or her familiar in question have any idea how she managed it, since according to them she shouldn't even be old enough to sustain one yet. And she didn't go through the usual methods. She has no idea what a Servant is or what they are able to do, and instead tends to hide behind this Gil as if he were her personal shield from the world. It's a miracle the poor girl isn't a recluse by now," said Minerva.

Kiritsugu had only given her the bare bones of what a Servant was, and Gil had just confirmed it without explaining _why_ they found it surprising she had accidentally summoned him.

The sheer amount of magical energy for her to have summoned him long before the war was to come back was _enormous_...most Magi couldn't pull it off without getting the Command Seals first, and even sustaining one without the use of the Grail or someone helping to lighten the load was impressive itself. The fact she had no idea what a Servant was or had even known about magic before that...well, that was just icing on the cake.

Hearing McGonagall's report on the girl who Dumbledore had blatantly left in the hands of abusive muggles, the teachers were all left horrified at the life she had. Finding out the girl was submissive to the point where she was easy prey to anyone with a sufficiently bossy personality was not the thing you wanted to hear when talking about your savior.

* * *

Amy was enjoying her life, as timid as she was.

"Ano, Kaede-chan?" asked one of the girls in her class. Sakura Matou if she remembered right.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"We were wondering what you wanted to do for the school festival?" asked Sakura.

"Ano..."

Amy didn't know what to think of this school festival stuff. At least Gil was in her class. She looked for him and found he was reading another manga after one of the guys had gotten him hooked on the stuff...he particularly liked violent ones like _Hellsing_ and _Darker Than Black_. Occasionally he would read a more light one like _D N Angel._

Today it was something called _Maid-Sama_. It was one of hers from what she could tell.

"How about a maid cafe?" suggested Gil, not looking up.

"Maid cafe?" said the other girls.

"It's simple and it would make things interesting. The guys could be the butlers or greeters. Though in Kae's case she might be better suited for the cooking duty," said Gil.

Gil was the only one who got away with calling her Kae, instead of by her first name Kaede. Though sometimes he just called her Amy.

"Well, maybe not as a maid cafe...but a regular one could work. But I'm not sure that we should be competing with the sempai's cafe," said Sakura.

Sakura was of course referring to the fact Shiro's class was doing a cafe as well. Specifically a butler cafe.

"What if we were to combine the two classes?" said Gil.

"It's been done before!" said Misa cheerfully.

Gil was elected to talk to the upperclassmen about joining the two concepts. Shiro had no problem with it...so long as Gil was given the position of head butler to avoid issues.

Which basically meant he would be in charge of all the guys.

"So it's decided then? A joint cafe?" said Gil.

"Yeah, yeah. I am not wearing a maid outfit though," said Rin. She had been elected as the class representative.

"Well I'm not putting you in charge of the girls, and you aren't on cooking duty...how about as the other greeter?" said Gil.

"How about in charge of the money?" said Shiro.

"That might be better," said Gil.

* * *

"Welcome back, Master!" said Sakura.

Sakura had been designated the primary greeter next to Gil. Shiro and Kaede were on cooking duty until someone else took their place.

This was mostly because Kaede still had trouble with being around guys other than Gil or Shiro.

Everything was going smoothly until..._he_ showed up. Shinji Matou, Sakura's "older" brother.

"Eh...So this was what you were up to, Sakura," sneered Shinji.

Sakura winced. What she didn't see was the way Kaede flinched behind her.

Shinji was a known scumbag who coasted around the girls through his good looks and the fact his family was rich. Everyone knew he abused his younger sister, but she never complained about it.

"This maid outfit suits you perfectly," he said with a cold smirk.

"Shinji! I thought you said you were too sick to help out!" said Shiro in annoyance.

"Oh please, as if someone like me would deign to wear such an outfit!"

Suddenly he grabbed Sakura's arm, clearly intending to drag her out of the room to 'put her in her place'. Rin tensed, wishing this were in private so she could blast the prick. Gil looked ready to toss him out physically.

What happened next shocked everyone. The timid and fearful Kaede spoke up against a boy.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You're disrupting the other customers," she said calmly.

"What was that you little..." started Shinji, before Kaede did something really unexpected.

She did a basic juijitsu throw and sent Shinji flying out of the room. Then she closed the door before he got up and locked it. She didn't open it until he left the area.

"Kaede-chan!" said Issui in shock.

Everyone knew Kaede was extremely shy around boys...so seeing her toss one came as a massive shock. Including to Shiro.

Gil just gave her an odd look.

"Now you decide to put those lessons to use?" he said amused.

"You knew?" said Shiro.

"Of course I knew. I tend to make sure that she's left alone between classes don't I? Should have seen Kiritsugu's face when he read that permission slip. If I remember right Taiga was all for it," said Gil.

"So Kaede-chan knows martial arts?" said Rin faintly.

"Aikido, juijitsu, and tai chi," listed Gil.

Everyone who knew her stared.

"Exactly what level is she at?" asked Rin.

"Ano...I'm a black belt in two of them and I'll be getting my third later this month," said Kaede embarrassed.

"Kae-chan tends to learn martial arts rather quick. She puts her all into it and even her instructors were impressed," said Gil.

Which was a half truth actually. The reality was that she had asked for the special classes which involved the use of things like Time-Turners. She had several lessons in a week alone, often in different rooms.

Hence why she had picked them up so fast.

"Kaede-chan is scary..."

"So _moe_..." whispered another.

Gil looked around. Some of the boys in Kaede's class seemed to look at her in a new light, and he didn't particularly like it.

Still, he was glad that she had finally used her skills against a boy...particularly if it was Shinji Matou.

* * *

"She finally used Aikido?" said Kiritsugu drinking his tea.

"Way to go Kaede-chan!" said Taiga.

Shiro looked at Taiga oddly.

"You knew too?"

"Of course I knew! Kaede-chan, should we show Shiro-kun what else you learned?" said Taiga.

"After dinner," said Kaede.

Shiro was left in shock watching Kaede actually defend herself from the Tiger of Fuyuki. She was graceful and she knew what she was doing.

"I can't believe Amy knows how to fight...she's so timid!" said Shiro.

"That's the whole point. The truth is that she is mostly over her fear of boys, but she's so used to avoiding them that it's become a habit. So instead she puts her all into learning how to fight as a precautionary thing to give people like Shinji a good lesson in manners," said Gil smugly, reading his comics.

"That was pretty funny," admitted Shiro.

The look on everyone's face when Kaede threw Shinji out into the hall... he knew some of them had to have gotten a few pictures of the event.

"Though I have to admit, the guys did hit her natural personality dead on," said Gil.

"Eh?"

"Amy is quite Moe."

"I still say that having a heroic spirit reading manga like that is weird...and it just sounds wrong when someone like you says the words Moe and Tsundere..." muttered Shiro.

"Yeah, but even you admit that it fits the Tohsaka brat to a 'tee'," said Gil flatly.

"No arguments there," admitted Shiro.

"Are you two done...Gil-kun, what have I said about stealing my manga?" whined Taiga.

Shiro looked at the title.

_Gokusen_ was printed in big letters on the front. He remembered hearing about a series where the daughter of a well known yakuza group decided to become a teacher at a really rough high school and still run the family business. No wonder it had Taiga's interest.

"I bought this earlier, Taiga," said Gil smirking.

"Gil...you are responsible for the damages," said Kiritsugu.

"Hai, hai," said Gil.

Kiritsugu had become resigned to the fact that Gilgamesh would likely be a permanent addition to his house so long as Kaede lived there. Then again, as long as his interest was in Kaede and not Saber, he was actually quite tolerable.

When asked by Kiritsugu why his personality was so different, he found out with surprise that his adult self didn't become arrogant until the gods had his best friend turn on him as revenge for something he had done.

Ko-Gil, as he was called by Kiritsugu, was a much more tolerable person to deal with than adult Gilgamesh.

The only thing that worried him was how the adult Gil would react once his 'age' caught up to him, as Ko-Gil was slowly but surely allowing his body to age naturally so as to avoid suspicion.

Taiga was already going on about what a cute couple Kaede and Gil made.

Kaede watched as Rin bossed her brother around.

"I feel bad for Shiro. She really likes him," said Kaede eating her lunch.

"He did have the bad luck of attracting the biggest tsundere in the school," said Gil, grinning evilly.

"It sounds so wrong for the King of Heroes to use words like kawaii and tsundere," said Kaede.

"Laugh it up Moe-girl...you're the one who got me hooked on that maid series of all things," snorted Gil.

"This coming from the one who got me hooked on _High School of the Dead_," countered Kaede.


	4. Chapter 4

_Kaede, age fourteen/Shiro, age fifteen..._

"Any idea what this is about?" asked Kaede.

"No idea. Did Gil get into a Halloween prank?" asked Shiro.

"Oi, right here you know," said Gil irritably.

"Couldn't resist. You do get into some weird situations though..." said Shiro.

Because of his high charisma, he kept getting into the weirdest situations with the other boys in the school. Usually because they were idiots trying to impress Gil or Kaede.

The girls loved Kaede because she was so nice...and because she brought 'eye-candy' for them to look during class. It occasionally amused Kaede to see them swoon whenever Gil smiled at them. Mostly it annoyed her.

"Yeah, but we mostly escorted Kae, Rin and Sakura around this year didn't we?" said Gil.

"Good point."

They found themselves at the headmaster's office.

"Come in please," said the headmaster.

Shiro opened the door.

Inside was the head of the Academy, Sasuke Fujimura. He was a kitsune who had been teaching at the school for over a century now. On one of the guest chairs was a man wearing eye-gouging robes, a man with a rather poorly fitted bowler hat, and another who made Gil want to kill him with his Noble Phantasm on sight.

To his disgust the blond seemed to think them below them just for existing. He was just as arrogant as his adult self, only much worse.

Adult Gilgamesh would simply kill you for looking at him wrong...this man seemed to enjoy torture his victims before he gave them a painful death.

Even when he was in his more arrogant state, he couldn't tolerate vicious sycophants like that. And the one in the bowler hat seemed to be one of the more annoying types of politicians. He disliked the oldest one simply because he didn't seem to realize how badly his colors clashed.

In short Gil's hackles were raised rather effectively.

Kaede took his attitude as something to be worried about and immediately ducked behind him. If they angered him this much, then there was no telling how bad they were. He usually had very good reasons for disliking people without even knowing them.

The long haired blond looked at Gil's eyes and sniffed disparagingly.

"I was unaware this school catered to _vampires_," he said.

Gil growled.

"Did you just compare me to one of those damn Apostles?" he said angrily.

"Only someone who practices Dark Arts or is a vampire has red eyes," said the blond with a hint of arrogance.

"Gil's eyes are naturally red," said Shiro. He could see why Gil immediately disliked him.

Kaede stayed hidden behind Gil. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Why are they here, sir?" asked Gil angrily.

"Apparently someone entered Ms. _Potter_ into a tournament being held in England. Since she is registered as a student here, they have come to demand that she participate, despite the fact her name and family were legally and magically changed. They didn't even get her name right," said Fujimura annoyed. It had taken him an hour before someone finally found the right files.

Because she had changed her name _before_ entering the school, they really had no idea who these arrogant English were asking for. It wasn't until they had an inquiry through the goblin students that they were finally told.

"And the fact that there is no way in Enma's hell that her magical signature could have been entered since she has never stepped foot into their school before now?" asked Gil, vastly irritated.

"She must compete! Once a name is accepted into the Goblet of Fire, then that student must go through the tasks or forfeit their magic!" said the portly man in the bowler hat.

"Goblet of Fire?" said Gil.

"Someone entered an illegal fourth participant in their Tri-Wizard Tournament and they expect her to compete despite the fact that she has never even _been_ to any of the three schools. Apparently the fact they never _listed _which school she was placed under means they can remove her until this farce is over."

"Do you have a rulebook?" asked Gil.

Sasuke handed him one. Gil skimmed through the rules until he found what he needed.

"_A magical relative can contest the validity of the entry if the one in question is a minor or has never attended the school prior to that year. _According to this it was added to keep the schools from seeding the rosters just to win this tournament," said Gil.

"What rule is that?" demanded Sasuke.

Gil pointed it out. The headmaster's eyes widened in anger.

"You expect me to let you steal one of my best students just to participate in a tournament that is clearly ill-suited to her? Despite the fact that there is a rule to keep her from going?" he demanded angrily.

"I'm afraid our rules this year are clear. She will have to participate," said the older one in eye-clashing robes.

"There is another solution. Send me instead of her," said Gil. He wasn't letting these bastards near her.

"That would be impossible. Only a magical relative would be allowed to substitute for a champion!" said the bowler hat.

"A magical relative or a familiar," corrected Gil.

Sasuke suddenly smirked evilly.

"Thank you for reminding me. I can't send Kaede off to your country...not with her issues around people she isn't familiar with...but I can let you borrow Gil-kun until this nonsense is over with," said Sasuke evilly.

"Impossible!" said bowler hat.

"Not impossible. By the rules of the tournament, a familiar may be used in place of the Champion if they are unable to participate themselves," said Gil smirking.

"Gil-kun here is registered by the goblins as Kaede-chan's familiar. He has even attended and participated in the same classes as her, so by your laws he can take her place."

"And how did Ms. Potter obtain a vampire for a familiar?" asked the old one.

"Gil is not a vampire. As for how...well that's an ongoing mystery we would all love to know," said Sasuke.

"All that matters is that we clear this up. Exactly how long is this nonsense supposed to last?"

"There are three tasks. You have to complete each and then it's over," said the old one.

"So I don't actually have to _stay_ at this school the entire year? I can just come for the tasks and go home until the next."

"It's traditional for the champions to stay with their group," said the old one.

"In that case, I'll bring something to stay in. I see no reason to fraternize with the students since you're forcing someone to participate because of some ridiculous artifact," said Gil.

Well that and he planned to indulge in some harmless theft once it was over.

* * *

"So you're heading to England for a bit?" said Kiritsugu.

"It might be best if Kaede stayed with Rin for a while. Her bounded fields will detect anyone trying to grab her, and it would keep her from being attacked between classes."

"Why Rin?" asked Shiro.

"Sakura's _family_ includes that wretch Shinji if you remember. And despite being a bossy tsundere, I'm sure Rin wouldn't mind having someone to talk to about magecraft that isn't the fake priest," said Gil.

"Rin is a nice enough girl, and her methods are at least explainable. But you had better ask her first," said Kiritsugu.

* * *

"Eh? Gilgamesh is heading off to England? Why?" asked Rin.

"The idiot wizards in England have this tournament that they're trying to drag me into, and Gil offered to take my place."

"Ugh...they tried to rope you into that Tri-Wizard Tournament? How did that happen?" asked Rin.

"No idea. They didn't even get my name right!"

"Let me guess...your birth name instead of your current? That shouldn't even be legal!" said Rin indignant.

"And the people they sent to drag me back..." she shuddered.

"Who did they send?"

"Some old guy with no sense of color coordination and a long beard, a fat man in an ill fitting green bowler hat, and some long pale blond that Gil hated on sight before he even spoke. Then he went on to anger Gil by comparing him to an apostle just because of his eyes," said Kaede.

"Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge and Lucius Malfoy from the sounds of it," said Rin.

"I forgot you took magical politics," said Kaede.

"Fudge is the Minister of Magic, Malfoy is one of the most prominent pure blood wizarding families, and Dumbledore is the head of the ICW, the Wizengamot and the headmaster of Hogwarts," listed Rin.

"Why would they care about some no-name Magus-Witch from the East?" asked Kaede.

"I have no idea. Didn't you say you were adopted? Maybe your remaining family decided now was a good time to reclaim you, or at least contact you," said Rin.

Kaede shuddered.

"Definitely _not_ that. The only family I would even _want_ to claim is Shiro and he's actually my cousin. The rest are mundanes."

Besides, she was more likely to call Gil to kill them than to go anywhere near that house ever again. He would do it without her asking considering how horrible they were.

"Really? From what your records say, you're a half-blood. Maybe family on your dad's side?" said Rin.

"Doubtful. The goblins said I didn't have any close relatives on his side, at least outside of prison anyway. Records showed a godfather, but he was sent to Azkaban awaiting trial...which has yet to happen for thirteen years," said Kaede.

"No trial in... You mean Sirius Black is your godfather?" said Rin, dropping her plate. It shattered on the floor.

(They had been washing dishes.)

"I think so. According to the heritage test my grandmother on my dad's side was a Black too," said Kaede, washing another dish. Rin dried while she washed.

Rin stared at the girl.

"You mean to tell me...that your last name was _Potter_? As in the famous Girl-Who-Lived? The one who beat that idiot Voldemort when she was _one?_" said Rin.

"The name is Emiya. I had it changed both magically and legally, and because of _how_ I ended up in Japan they had all my records sealed for protection."

"I don't believe this...Shiro has the girl-who-lived as his sister and cousin and he never thought to mention it? The same girl who has a _free_ pass into Clock Tower the second she asks?" said Rin, holding her plate tightly...which promptly cracked under the pressure of her grip.

"I could give the pass to you if you like. According to the headmaster I can send an apprentice in my place," said Kaede.

Rin stared at her.

"You don't get how difficult it is to go to Clock Tower!" she said in despair.

"Actually it's more like I despise England and I really don't want a Sealing Designation to fall on my head. Gil mentioned that my ability to summon and maintain a Servant, especially one of Saber class like him, might be unusual enough to get one."

"I'll concede that point. Being able to keep someone like Gilgamesh around as a Saber class is a bit odd, especially since he was properly summoned and you had no idea what magic was until then," said Rin.

The wizards might pass it off as being the girl-who-lived, but magi would want to know why. A sealing designation wasn't _that_ big a stretch at all.

"If I remember right, you get an automatic pass into Clock Tower if you ever complete the Jewel Sword right? That project that the Wizard Marshal gave you?" said Kaede, finishing the last one.

"Yeah, but I have no idea how to go about it," said Rin.

"Maybe we can combine wizardry and magecraft to form the shape, then you can figure out how to duplicate the power?" suggested Kaede.

Rin would have said something, but she realized that she had a point.

"You might want to fix those plates so I can finish this," said Kaede.

"True. Who knows, you might have better luck with those horrible Kaleidosticks than I did when that jerk Zelretch showed up with the blueprints," said Rin with a shudder.

"Kaleidosticks?"

Rin shuddered again.

"Apprently Zelretch has a thing for magical girl shows. He made these horrible things called Kaleidosticks that are total perverts..." said Rin.

She had only seen them once, and she vowed never again.

Why, oh why had some idiot apprentice introduced him to that horrible genre?

* * *

Gil took one look at Hogwarts, and was distinctly unimpressed.

Yes it was a castle, but the place was filthy! The classes were backwards and heavily emphasized pureblood propaganda, the food was heavy on the fat and sugars, and the only one who seemed to actually keep up with the times was the _potions_ teacher, who hated children!

In short, Gil hated the place immediately and was glad that Kaede was no where near this hellhole.

"Who let the vampire in?" sneered a boy in green and silver.

Gil growled. This kid was clearly the son of that pompous prick he had seen in Japan. Perhaps, just this once, it would be better if he channeled his more arrogant adult self?

Gil shocked everyone by grabbing the boy by his neck and lifting him in the air with one hand without problem.

"Listen here _commoner_. I'm only here because I have deemed this farce unworthy of my Master's time and because you inbred filth don't seem to understand that she has no interest in ever returning to England. Next time you seek to challenge me, you would do well to remember your place," he snarled.

Gil saw the shocked looks of the Hogwarts staff. The Bulgarians seemed rather pleased by his open declaration of war against the inbred English fools. The French were appalled by his open show of politics.

"Here me now Englishmen. If any of you try to force me to stay here once this tournament is done with, I will not hesitate to kill you all. The only reason this spoiled ponce is allowed to live is because my Master dislikes seeing me kill people without reason," he said flatly.

Not true, but it would keep them from bothering him later.

Now that he had put the brat in his proper place, beneath his notice, he left the great hall. Before he left the room entirely, he said snarkily, "And for the record, I am no vampire. The next idiot who mistakes me as a damn apostle is going to be skewered and left as a warning. I don't need dark arts to kill you."

Gilgamesh _hated_ England and couldn't understand how Saber's countrymen had fallen this far.


	5. Chapter 5

Kaede was about to leave with Rin for class when the boundary wards went off. The girls both blinked, before Rin went to see who was trying to break into her home through a scrying mirror.

There were ten idiots wearing skull masks and black robes several centuries out of date.

"Death Eaters," said Rin angrily.

"I think Gil made an impression," said Kaede.

"Why?"

"Because I've been getting the feeling of annoyance and irritation from England since yesterday," she said.

"Call him now!" demanded Rin.

"_What?"_ said Gil irritated.

"What...did...you...do?" hissed Rin.

"_I put some inbred idiot in his place. And possibly scared off most of the kiddies, why?"_

Rin angled the mirror outside.

"_You might as well hide in the school and send someone to pick the idiots up."_

Rin checked her emergency port-key to the school.

"Dammit, they've thrown up port key and apparition wards!"

Kaede blinked...then called Taiga.

"_Moshi moshi?"_

"Taiga-nee, can I talk to your grandfather for a moment? We seem to have been invaded by the English and I don't think Kiritsugu would appreciate me calling about this," said Kaede.

"_Eh? Invaded by English?"_

She heard Taiga handing over the phone.

"_Yes?"_

"We have at least a dozen murders and rapists outside the Tohsaka mansion, and the men have blocked our exits. Could you send some of the men in the family who have Mystic Codes to remind them that they aren't hot shots around here?" asked Kaede pleasantly.

"_Any reason to keep them alive?"_

"Aside from reminding the English that this is your turf? Not really."

"_A lesson then. The boys have been eager to test their new toys on people like that for a while... Be sure to bring some sweets over as payment, and tell Shiro that we're even on my next three tune-ups,"_ he said.

"Deal."

Shiro tended to earn money by fixing the motorcycles Fujimura family and some of his friends. Kaede had gotten over her issues with men...at least enough to visit Taiga in her house without having a panic attack without Gil as a buffer.

Rin looked at Kaede.

"Reinforcements will be here shortly. Should we watch the show?"

"How did you describe them?"

"English invaders that have blocked the exits. All I said was that there were former murderers and rapists out there, and he gave me a discount. Care to help me bake while we wait for them to clean out the trash?" she said.

Rin snorted.

"They going to leave anyone alive?"

"We do need to remind the English that this is Magus territory, don't we?" said Kaede pleasantly.

Which meant that one survivor, barely alive, would be all that was left. The yakuza rarely played around when it involved people muscling in on their territory.

Rin had in fact come to an agreement with the Fujimura clan. She would deal with the Magical issues of Fuyuki, in exchange for the Fujimura family dealing with any idiot mundanes. Or in the case of an attack like this, taking out the garbage so she could remind the wizards who ruled this land.

Considering she kept quiet about the fact that the Fujimura clan was almost entirely armed with Mystic Codes which by all rights had no place in the hands of someone other than a magus, this was a rather peaceful agreement.

Mostly because Rin had no interest in the yakuza world, and they could care less about the world of Magi.

Fifteen minutes later (the Death Eaters had no idea of how to get around Rin's house wards) and there was the sound of screaming. English screams that is.

Kaede and Rin left the mansion to see the results of the return fire. Only one of the Death Eaters was still alive.

Taiga's grandfather was there.

"Fujimura-san, arigatou!" said Rin with an evil smile.

"I figured you two would like to have a few words with one of the idiots. Where should we address this lot to?" he asked.

"We'll ask the bankers where to send their remains. Would you like some tea?" asked Kaede.

"No thank you. I need to train some of my young idiots on how to aim," he replied, looking at two of them who had missed the target entirely.

"We'll bring the sweets by later. Any preferences?"

Rin took down several requests, most of them for foreign flavors.

* * *

"EH? Rin's house was attacked?!" said Shiro in shock during class. He had wondered why they were so late.

"We called Fujimura-san to deal with them. Then we sent our reply to their actions back," said Rin evilly.

"I wonder if that poor fool will be able to look at another teenager again..." said Kaede.

Rin was absolutely ruthless in her punishment. Kaede only helped when the idiot tried to escape.

Then they sent the badly injured and spelled Death Eater back to England with the rest of his dead friends with a message.

Don't trespass onto Magus territory, or you'll regret it.

"Coincidentally, Fujimura-san said that he expects the next three tune-ups of his bike to be free," said Kaede.

"It's not like I fix his bike for the money anyway," said Shiro.

He mostly did it as a hobby, pay he considered a bonus.

* * *

_Back in England_...

"The first task is a dragon. You have got to be joking," said Gil when he found out what they had to do.

They seriously wanted a fourteen-year-old girl to fight a phantasmal beast just for their own little game?

Not a chance in hell.

Gil really hated England. After his little display of open power with the pureblood ponce, he had been marked by several girls who had immediately honed in on the blood in the water.

If he wanted sycophants, he could have stayed at home.

One girl in particular was extremely annoying. Hermione Granger was bossy, rude, and had no sense of personal space.

She had all but demanded details about his classes, and seemed offended when he refused to speak to her about it. Then he went on to insult her and her schooling by saying Hogwarts courses were so backwards that they were considered a joke outside of Europe.

She looked absolutely horrified when he told her that Hogwarts wasn't even ranked in one of the top ten among the magic schools.

Had Gil known what he unleashed on the Japanese Academy, he would have considered keeping his mouth shut. Kaede would later unleash her more violent nature to beat her Servant up for setting Hermione on the path to _her_ school.

* * *

A few days later Gil was in the tent, bored out of his mind.

He was reading his usual manga, looking like he could honestly care less about the prize.

A thousand gold coins was _nothing_ compared to what he had in his Noble Phantasm, let alone what Kaede had built up in her own vault.

And the fame wasn't worth the hassle of winning.

Finally his turn came up.

Gil walked out confidently.

"_And here we have the replacement for Rowena Potter, Gil of Uruk. According to popular rumors, Rowena has sent her familiar Gil in her place."_

That set off some of the adults, who caught his red eye color.

Sensing a familiar argument, Gil cast a minor spell to change his eye color to green.

"For the last time I am not a damn apostle!" he shouted at them all.

"_Eh? His eyes turned green."_

Gil's irritation rose, and he glared at the dragon.

The Horntail took one look at his mood and immediately backed away from the nest. It wasn't getting anywhere near the King of Heroes when he was that pissed off. Gil took the egg and headed back to the tent, his annoyance clear.

Everyone was so surprised that he was able to intimidate even something as vicious as the Horntail that it took a moment before they could tally up the points.

"I hate England..." he said in a grumble.

* * *

Kaede answered her mirror phone and saw Gil.

"How bad and do we need to help bury someone?" she asked.

"_They had a _dragon_ of all things as the first task. A dragon."_

"You scared it didn't you?" she said knowingly.

"_I may have had it with the damn rumors of me being a vampire..."_ muttered Gil.

"I'll make your favorites when you come back, how's that sound?" said Kaede.

Gil had a bit of a weakness for chocolate and cinnamon.

Gil grumbled a bit more, but he did enjoy her cooking.

"By the way, some more Death Eaters show up and we had Taiga's grandfather come by and deal with them. Did you do anything to annoy someone again?"

"_Nothing new...aside from dealing with this bossy brat and that ponce again. They don't seem to get the message I'm only here under duress."_

"Keep up the good work, Gil!" said Kaede.

"Eh? Gil's on?" said Rin. Behind her was Shiro, as he had been the designated pack mule for the day. He put down the groceries for her.

"He scared a dragon," said Kaede amused.

"Sounds about right. Anyway, I read up on this stupid tournament and supposedly there is a ball after the second task. I'm sure we could manage to come visit you and help you mock the English without them knowing," said Rin.

"_A ball?"_ said Gil, making a face. No doubt most of the shallow girls would try to force him into being their date without something to get in between them.

"Ano...I think I could handle a few days in England. But I'm only there to act as Gil's shield from the fan girls."

Oddly enough Kaede tended to be his shield from the more shallow girls after him, and he tended to keep the guys from bothering her. It was a workable arrangement.

"_From what this egg is shrieking at me, chances are they'll drag you here as my hostage."_

"Ugh, what is that, banshee?" asked Rin.

"_Mermish, above ground,"_ said Gil.

"No wonder it sounds horrible," said Rin.

"_Anyway according to this _thing_...I'll have an hour to rescue a hostage. And since I am really not making any friends here, they'll likely have to outsource."_

"So what is the famous Hogwarts like?" asked Rin.

"_Outdated, boring and the food is crappy at best. I've had to snag things from the Gate in order to avoid gagging. These people eat as if it were still the Middle Ages, and the drinks are terrible. It's either weak tea, really weird tasting water, or this disgusting drink known as Pumpkin Juice. I've had to sneak down to the local pub to get anything I can stand,"_ complained Gil.

"Ugh! Pumpkin Juice, really? That is the absolute _worst_ drink!" said Rin, having tried it once.

Shiro thought of something.

"Do you have the portal gun with you?" he asked.

"_You mean that weird thing the Otaku Group made as a joke after playing that game one too many times? Yeah, they asked me to bring some of their stuff to promote, why?"_

"Can't you aim the portal through the mirror phone and come through it for a bit to stock up?" asked Shiro.

Gil opened his mouth...before he shut it. It hadn't been tried yet.

Gil immediately reached for the gun and aimed it carefully behind the others. Then shot it off.

An orange circle appeared behind them. A few moments later he shot off a blue circle.

"_Here it goes,"_ said Gil. And he stepped through.

"Did it work?" ask Gil.

Kaede pounced on him with a hug. He felt his connection to his Master.

"It worked! Thank the gods! I won't have to suffer through their idea of food anymore!" said Gil in relief.

No more suffering the English. He could come and go so long as the portals were maintained.

"Hmm... I think this calls for dinner and dessert!" said Shiro.

* * *

"Someone seems..."

"Happier than normal."

Gil turned around to find the infamous Weasly twins behind him. Infamous in that they were pranksters that everyone was warned away from...and that they were the sole pure bloods who had yet to piss off the Japanese Familiar kid.

Or his other popular nickname, the blond vampire.

Gil tended to hex anyone who said it within spell range.

Gil raised a single blond eyebrow at them. They hadn't bothered him once.

"And you are?"

"Fred," said the twin on the right.

"And George," said the left twin.

"Weasly at your service," they said in unison.

"The second generation Marauders?" said Gil raising an eyebrow.

"You've heard of us!" they said happily.

"More like you're the only purebloods in this entire castle who has yet to compare me to a damn apostle...well you and that blond girl with the drifting eyes..."

"What's an apostle?" asked Fred.

Gil deadpanned at them "An apostle is the name the Magus Association gave to the species you wizards call _vampires_. Just because I have red eyes does _not_ make me a damn vampire!"

"Well there's also that red stuff you drink," said Fred.

"The fact you're stronger than most wizards physically," said George.

"And the fact that it's illegal to bind another human as your familiar," finished Fred.

"I'll admit to not being human, but I am not a vampire!"

"If you aren't human, then what are you?" asked George.

"I'm a Servant. That's all the description _most_ people would even need, considering where Kaede lives!" said Gil irritated.


	6. Chapter 6

_**ATTENTION ALL FANFICTION WRITERS OR FANS. SOPA, THE STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT THAT WILL DELETE FANFICTION, FAN ART, FAN MADE VIDEOS AND FAN PAGES IS BACK. WE HAVE UNTIL MARCH NINETEENTH TO STOP IT FROM EVER BEING PASSED. LOG ONTO YOUR WHITE HOUSE ACCOUNTS AND SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST THIS IDIOTIC ACT BEFORE WE LOSE THIS SITE! If you click the 'IS SOPA 2014 Real?' question on yahoo, it has a link that will take you straight to the petition!**_

* * *

"GIL~!" came a feminine cry.

If he didn't recognize the voice, he would have avoided the tackle. Kaede slammed into him with a vengeance.

Behind her was a snickering Shiro and an annoyed Rin.

Gil held onto Kaede with a grimace. Her tackles _hurt_.

"Who's that?"

"Since when does the vampire of Japan let anyone _touch_ him?"

"Who are they?"

"Kaede...why did you come here early?" asked Gil.

"They asked us too...besides, it was either that or listen to more of Rin's plans to geld Kirei. Apparently he did something to anger her again," said Kaede.

Gil looked at the angry Rin.

"Why would you stop at gelding?" he asked.

Rin's foul mood vanished. She had forgotten Gilgamesh hated Kirei as much as she did. The only reason he stuck around was because of something Kirei did to him and because the jerk kept him alive...at least until Kaede somehow summoned him.

"They asked the people closest to 'Gil' to come here in order to act as hostage. Normally Kaede would have been sent alone, but since she was picked as champion and you're her replacement, they have to pick between the two of us in order to have a proper hostage. Kaede only came because she missed you," said Rin.

"And where's _your_ escort? No way they sent two fifteen year olds and a fourteen year old alone to England without an escort."

"I'm right here," said Kiritsugu tiredly.

He had been picked since three of the four in question were under his guardianship. Namely Gil, Shiro and Kaede...plus he didn't need the spell to translate for him like the others chosen.

Gil smirked at him. Kiritsugu ignored him.

"So how long are you staying?" he asked.

"Two months. A few days for the second task, and since I have no intention of dragging them back a second time, we'll stay in your area until the ball is over," said Kiritsugu flatly.

Gil almost sagged in relief.

"Kaede, you're my fangirl repellent," he said to his Master flatly.

She giggled. Gil _hated_ fangirls after reading that series_ Naruto_.

* * *

"So Gil," said Fred.

"Who's your friend?" asked George.

Kaede 'eeped', before she hid behind Gil.

"You two should back away a bit. Kaede has trouble being around older males," he said.

"Kaede? This your girlfriend?" asked Fred. But they did back off a bit.

"She's my _Master_," he corrected.

"Wait, this is _Rowena Potter_? She's so timid!" said George in shock.

"Let's just say there's a very good reason for that. And it's part of the reason why I was sent in her place," said Gil.

Mostly because they were afraid that if she went to this tournament she wouldn't return...alive anyway.

Gil walked with the surprisingly missed addition of Kaede behind him. While she was more or less over her fear of older males, being in England had brought her bad habits back to the front. She hated this place, and she made no bones about how much she would love to leave and never return.

The twins seemed to pick up on that, which was why they were acting as a sort of honor-guard-slash-tour-guides. No one seemed to pick up that this was in fact the Potter girl, possibly because her hair was such a bright red color instead of the black everyone expected it to be.

During dinner, the people from Japan sat at the Gryffindor table...and were discreetly sharing Gil's food. The twins, since they were one of the few who could come near him without being skewered for the affront, were well aware of his rants about their food.

Hence why they had shown him the kitchens. The poor elves were upset to find that Gil had not been enjoying their labors.

Gil was surprised to find smaller creatures that resembled imps and homunculi. The Academy didn't use house elves...cooking was a duty delegated to the students who knew how. Kaede, Shiro and surprisingly enough Sakura Matou were all part of the cooking club.

Rin could cook, but she wasn't that enthusiastic about it like them.

Gil left the house elves with several recipe books. Every since then the food was tolerable, but he still preferred Shiro and Kaede's cooking.

Well that and he had noticed something the twins hadn't when he was in the kitchens. The elves kept adding something to the completed food and coating the eating utensils.

He had wondered why he felt so sick after the first few times eating the food at the great hall. Upon closer inspection he found several potions on the items. The house elves couldn't dose his chopsticks (despite knowing how to use forks and knives he felt safer with the disposable chopsticks which he kept inside his vault) but they could dose his food.

Unfortunately for whoever was responsible, Gil disliked their greasy and overdone meals, and tended to cook his own.

He did warn off Kaede and the others about the food though.

Fred and George looked at him oddly.

"Why is it you never eat with a fork?" asked Fred. That had been bugging them for a while.

"Partly out of habit, but mostly because I noticed the elves dosing the forks and knives while I was in there."

"It's compulsion, obedience and the odd love potion mostly. Snape was pissed when we brought it up to him. Ever since we take a daily counter agent," said George.

There was a reason why they now carried bezoars in their mouth whenever they ate.

Rin took one bite of the food...and looked disgusted at the taste.

"Bland, unappetizing, and clearly dosed. I suppose they try to mask the fact that the food is poisoned by the fact that everyone's taste buds are deadened by such overly fattened and sugared food," said Rin.

"Shiro and Kaede are cooking for us," deadpanned Gil.

"Agreed," said Rin.

"Is it really that big a difference?" asked Fred.

"Trust me, you'll likely abandon English food once they're through with you," chuckled Gil darkly.

* * *

Later that day, Kaede and Shiro cooked up an entire feast since they had avoided the food once they learned it was dosed. Fred, George and the mysterious Luna came to try their food...and were left with tears in their eyes.

It was that good!

"I think I've been spoiled away from mum's cooking," said George seriously, eating another bite.

"Agreed! These two are masters!" said Fred.

"They are part of the highest ranked members of the cooking club at the Academy after all," said Rin.

"Do you have any transfer papers?" asked Luna quietly.

"Question. Does the Japanese Academy include food like this all the time?" asked George.

"Of course. The cooking club supervises all food coming out of the kitchen and it holds the highest quality standard! We would never allow subpar food come out!" said Kaede.

"Holy cow!"

"She speaks!"

"Hello! Do you know your father over there has Nargles?" asked Luna cheerfully.

Kaede stared at her, before she decided she liked this odd English girl.

"Don't mind Luna," said Fred.

"She's always been an odd platypus,"said George.

Rin had to ask.

"Why platypus?"

"Because our dear next door neighbor here," started Fred.

"Is simply too odd to fit the role of a simple duck," finished George.

"Quark," said Luna happily.

"Quark?" said Rin, eyebrow twitching.

"Quark," said Kaede simply.

Gil snickered. Luna was highly entertaining, even if she was the only one who had bothered to look up the Magus definition of a Servant enough to start calling him Mr. Spirit in the hallways.

Not a single magical aside from her had made the connection, to his irritation.

Gil handed her the transfer papers, and after a thought handed the same ones to the twins.

By the end of Christmas, they would be sitting in with Shiro and Rin in their temporary classes. Luna would join Kaede and Gil.

* * *

Shiro had lost the draw on who would go underwater, and as such Rin was acting as bodyguard with Kiritsugu to keep Kaede safe.

No one had figured out she was Gil's mysterious Master, mostly because her hair was the wrong color and she didn't use magic to keep it that way. She had the scar removed years ago, so there wasn't that to identify her either.

In short the only ones who knew were McGonagall, Dumbledore, the twins and Luna.

Gil prepared to go into the murky depths. He had a spell he had learned just for this occasion from the Otaku club.

It was basically a giant air bubble.

Up above, Kaede was playing with something rather thin and red colored.

"What do you have there Kaede?" asked Kiritsugu. He had a vague idea of what it was, being the most practical of Magi before he was turned into a wizard by choice, but Rin clearly had no idea what it was.

"Something the Techo-Geek club came up with. They asked me to test it for them once I came to England once they heard I was heading in a magic-saturated environment."

"What is it?" asked Rin.

"Portable workshop for Magi. Since I live with the only Magus-born who's willing to acknowledge what a computer is for, I'm often their favorite beta tester. As such all my research notes is inside this tablet. The best part is that since I'm a witch, not a magus, the Magus Association has no actual hold on me. And since I live in Japan and have a Japanese citizenship, the English have no hold on me either. Which means that neither side can slap a Sealing Designation on me for having this just because they are so out of touch," said Kaede simply.

It was the primary reason that they had snagged her initially, to the amusement of Gil once informed of why they had all but kidnapped her. She was a relative free agent, able to slip through multiple cracks to do things normally impossible. She could even research Reality Marbles and not get bit, if she were inclined, and any apprentices she took would fall under the same loophole.

It didn't help that the Magus Association viewed the Asian Magi as weak, so there was usually bad blood between them when they clashed.

Considering what they had found entirely by accident inside Shiro's mind, this was a good thing. It gave him some leeway should the Magus Association ever discover his ability.

Gil was originally pissed when he found out about it, mostly because of his favorite Noble Phantasm, but then cooler heads prevailed...well, almost.

Kaede had been fascinated for years about Taiga's odd tiger manifestation whenever someone brought up her least favorite nickname. The day Gil learned of Shiro's ability, she manifested her own...and pretty much scared the crap out of everyone unlucky enough to be in the house at the time.

Gil had wondered how her relation to Arturia Pendragon would show up. Who knew it would come in the form of an angry holy dragon glaring down ready to eat you when she was angry?

It turned out to be an effective disciplinary method to keeping Taiga and Rin in line.

Thirty minutes into the water, Gil returned with an extra passenger. He had seen the French girl fall to the creatures, so he had graciously rescued her sister for her.

It was more of a way of saying he didn't trust Dumbledore to retrieve the girl in the event her older sister couldn't. Seeing the look Kaede shot him when Fluer kissed him on both cheeks honestly scared him more than facing a hungry Taiga and sleepy Rin.

* * *

Gil had been waiting for this. Ever since the ball had been announced, the more brazen girls had been eying him like a piece of meat. It didn't help that he was clearly more magically powerful, handsome or rich compared to the other males in the school, or that his charisma ranking meant that they were automatically attracted to him.

Kaede planned to acquire a dress for the occasion, and would help Rin acquire a new one. Shiro had agreed to be her date if only so none of the inbred morons (as she called most of the boys in Hogwarts) tried to ask her first.

Shiro notice Gil fiddling with something in his hand.

"What's that?" he asked, while Kiritsugu read the _Quibbler_ out of boredom.

Gil showed him and Shiro nearly dropped his book in shock.

"Is that a _ring_?" he asked.

Kiritsugu looked past his magazine to watch the proceedings curiously.

Gilgamesh during the Fourth Grail War had been a complete ass and extremely arrogant to boot. The way he treated women, particularly Saber, had made Kiritsugu's trigger finger itch in his presence.

Gil was nothing like Gilgamesh aside from looks and ability. He was polite, caring and extremely protective of those he cared about. He acted as Kaede's shield when she needed him the most, and her genuine affection was clearly able to do something about his attitude problem. While Kiritsugu couldn't stand Gilgamesh, he was somewhat fond of Gil, much like one would be fond of a precocious younger sibling.

It made him wonder just what the hell happened to such a sweet child that would make him go from friendly and outgoing to being a complete jerk who viewed anything that caught his interest as his personal property.

Even after reading the original tale of Gilgamesh, he simply couldn't believe that such a massive change in personality had occurred when he compared Gil to Gilgamesh. Clearly something had to have been lost in the translation of time.

Shiro looked at Gil in shock.

"You aren't giving that to Kaede as a promise ring are you?" he asked carefully.

It wasn't against the laws for a Master to marry their familiar, provided said familiar was humanoid enough to fool mundanes. But it was looked at oddly.

Gil nodded.

"Kaede has had a bigger impact on my original personality than anyone I have ever met. I never thought my child self would undergo such a thorough change from what it should be originally... the last time I was fourteen I was nothing like I am now," said Gil.

Kiritsugu spoke up.

"I have been wondering about that. Your adult self is rather hard to be around for most people. Just what exactly happened to change such a personable child into that arrogant adult with no regard for others?" he asked.

Gil sighed.

"In short, the gods screwed me over big time. At first it was bringing Enkidu out to put me back in line...then when they killed him I was driven mad. Since I had no equal except for the gods themselves, well it gave me a big head. From what I remember I was pretty damn spoiled back then, and no one would do anything about my ego problem. After a while I quit believing in the gods, so my divinity ranking dropped."

"Your child self has a divinity ranking, but I never saw your adult one have it."

"In simple terms, my original adult self is a Chaotic good, but my child self is strictly neutral at this point."


	7. Chapter 7

It was the big night. Thanks in part to the fact he was a replacement, Gil was allowed to return to Japan once the ball was over. No one else had that luxury if they chose to stay for the dance.

Word had quickly spread that he had already picked a partner, though many of the girls glared at Kaede for snagging the hot Familiar as her date, and many more at Rin for grabbing Shiro before he even became a viable replacement.

Fortunately Kaede had other things to consider other than their petty jealousy.

Gil had, while they were eating supper, brought the odd subject about his change in personality up after Kiritsugu had noted the change.

Rin believed it was because he wasn't as arrogant back when he was a child. Shiro believed that perhaps nurture over nature had prevailed. Kiritsugu didn't know what to think, only that he preferred the change.

Kaede, however, had another opinion.

Gil had described, in detail, what sort of person he had been in life. A more powerful Shinji Matou, had been his rather apt description. One who had earned that arrogance and power.

However Gil's personality was a near polar opposite to that of Gilgamesh at the same age. At least according to him. Which begged the question...why was his personality completely different?

The more she compared Gilgamesh to that of Gil, the stronger her theory became.

What if, that night she accidentally summoned him into the vessel of a Saber class and not Archer as he had been before, she had summoned a different version of him? One that, when given the opportunity and environment, emphasized his natural _good_ traits and downsized most of the negative?

For example, Kiritsugu had said that Gilgamesh was arrogant, conceited, and tended to be an ass in general. He had once claimed Saber just because she interested him without caring about her pride. The fact he failed to make her his was a moot point, but it was still there.

Gil, on the other hand, was kind, caring, charismatic, and protective of those he deemed worthy. His loyalty to Kaede was unquestioned, and despite his dislike of Shiro's Reality Marble, he still cared about him as a friend.

In short his personality was a polar opposite. It made distinguishing him between his original self very easy.

Which certainly begged the question...if she had accidentally summoned him with most of his good traits, then where did the bad ones go? They were still present in his current vessel, but they were muted, according to him. Like they weren't really there, but he was only feeling them peripherally.

If she had been a Magus, she might have happily tried to dissect Gil to figure that out. However Kaede was a witch who dabbled in magecraft as a pass time, and was proud of that fact. Kiritsugu certainly seemed happier as a wizard than he had been as a Magus.

Kaede suddenly realized she had been surrounded by a red-haired boy and several others.

"So you think you're too good for human boys?" he sneered.

Ron Weasly was a pure blood. But more than that he was a snake who hid inside the family of the lion pride. Only the most vapid of the Gryffindor females even thought he was date-worthy.

As such when he found the odd red-haired foreign girl attractive, he took offense that the vampire familiar had claimed her as a date first. Which was why he was going to...persuade...her to change her mind.

Kaede was having horrifying flashbacks to her former family, specifically that of her cousin and his gang of thugs cornering her before they nearly killed her.

Ron took one step forward, and her fight or flight response was immediate.

* * *

Meanwhile Gil was feeling odd tugs on his prana for the past five minutes, and he knew Kaede was in trouble from the panic she felt.

He arrived at the tail end of the confrontation, and he wasn't the only one left staring in shock.

Standing there with tears down her face and breathing heavily, was Kaede. Pinned to the wall was one Ronald Weasly, and there were multiple copies of the same sword.

The other boys looked at her in shock and horror, but it was Gil who decided their next course of action.

"Get the hell away from my Master!" he snarled.

Seeing the infamous vampire familiar ready to attack, they ran like hell in different directions.

"Kae-chan, are you alright?" he asked.

She shivered in his arms, reliving several past experiences with bullies. Gil turned his anger towards the pinned pureblood.

It didn't take a genius to figure out he was related to the twins.

* * *

"Fred, George, a word if you will," he said flatly.

The twins looked at each other before they followed Gil to a secluded room.

"What do you know of a red head Gryffindor about Kaede's age with freckles and a bad attitude problem?" he asked bluntly.

"Wait, you know who put our idiot little brother in his place?" said Fred.

"Idiot little brother?" said Gil.

"Ron is the youngest brother of our brood," explained George.

"As such mum babied him and Ginny too much," said Fred.

"To make matters worse he's gotten it into his head that he'll marry Rowena Potter, whether she likes him or not."

"It doesn't help that Dumbledore kept visiting and talking loudly about marrying her into the family. Either to one of us, Percy or magic-forbid Ron," said George.

"We never put much stock into it," said Fred quickly.

"But Ron did I take it?" said Gil.

"He became enamored with the fame and wealth of the Potter family. We've tried to break him of it, but ever since he's been convinced he'll marry Rowena, even if he has to do it by force," said George.

"He'll be dead if he tries to touch her again," said Gil flatly, with vehemence in his voice.

"Strangely the idea that we might end up down a brother doesn't actually bother me. You, Fred?" asked George.

"Not in the least. Ron was always the weak link, and if Ginny wasn't the only girl she would be right behind him. Do you need any help?" asked Fred coldly.

"Warn him that if he tries to harm Kaede again, I'll kill him in one of your precious honor duels. I can and will end him if he tries to hurt her. She's been through enough hell already," said Gil.

* * *

Ron was immediately approached by his brothers, and they looked serious for a change.

"Ron, it is our duty as brothers to warn you..." started Fred.

"If you go near any of the girls in the Japanese area," said George.

"Gil has sworn he will challenge you to an honor duel and he said he will not hesitate to kill you in the most bloody way imaginable," said Fred.

Hermione, who had heard rumors about the incident involving Ron being pinned by a sword, looked at them oddly.

"What the hell did he do now?"

"He cornered Kaede Emiya, the red-haired girl, in one of the halls with some of the other boys. No idea who they were, but she left a real...impression...on them when she took out Ron," said Fred.

"Gil was pissed as hell when he heard that Ron had ganged up on her...said she had some real bad memories of it happening before they met," said George.

"Once he knew we were related to Ron though...well he asked us to pass on a warning."

"What warning?" demanded the idiot red head, unaware of the fact that someone had just told his brothers that if he came near the girls again, he was as good as dead.

"Come near any of the foreign girls with the attempt to force yourself on them again, and you are a dead man," said the twins in unison.

"Of course that's not counting what _we_ would do to you if we heard you had done anything so disgusting," said Fred.

"Or what _Mum_ would do if she found out."

"Although we could let the growing number of very angry, very hormonal girls behind us have the honor of teaching you a lesson," said Fred.

"Then again what sort of brothers would we be if we didn't at least warn you that you're on thin ice and starting to sink?" mused George.

Neville looked at them amused.

"If you were good brothers, you would have warned him in private...but you wanted to let the girls know the full story didn't you?"

"Absolutely," they chimed in chorus again.

"RON..." snarled Hermione, along with a growing number of females behind her.

Ron wouldn't have to worry about the ball...he would be more concerned with moving his limbs without being in absolute agony in St. Mungo's for two months, long after the Japanese girls had returned home.

* * *

"Oh my kami...Kaede this dress is gorgeous!" squealed Rin.

Kaede had gone to the goblins and asked if they knew any decent tailors, rather than buy one premade.

Surprisingly enough, they directed her to a half-fae dressmaker who seemed surprised that a descendant of Arthur had come to her tiny shop.

Then she dragged Rin in as well.

To her surprise, when she went into the shop her hair went from fiery red to spun gold. Gil, when given a picture of the odd change, immediately recognized the look.

With golden hair like that, she was practically a carbon-copy of Saber, only her eyes were a slightly different shade of green.

With the sudden change of coloring and the fact that Rin attested to Kaede's hair normally being a shade of red not found often, the half-fae had looked delighted at the challenge.

Rin had been easy. A simple Western gown with red overtones and the odd black butterfly which moved along the dress fabric whenever she moved, along with a few jewels picked up from Kaede's vault (and a two new sacks full of normal jewels for Rin to use in her magecraft) and she was done.

However Kaede had been different. Since the half faerie heard she had _Gilgamesh_, the infamous King of Heroes as a date (he would be wearing a tactful gold and white suit and his preferred gold earrings) he had to make her something special!

Gilgamesh had already agreed to let them look though the rather extensive jewelry collection he had...it wasn't like he really had a use for it. Though in Rin's case she was mostly borrowing a few pieces here and there.

Kaede was now looking at her dress that looked very royal in design. It was almost like the decorations had been painted on the fabric.

"I must admit, I outdid myself," said the Faerie proudly.

He held up the dress. It was like spun white gold with silver and black designs.

It looked more like a Queen's outfit than a ballgown.

The sleeves hung loosely off the mannequin, showing off the shoulder blades. The back was open as well, at least down to the small her back. The chest area had a more golden tone than the rest, and it emphasized her bust as small as it was. The gown itself would go down to her ankles, but it looked like you could move in it with ease.

All along the dress was dragon that moved with it. It was clearly a holy dragon, something no mortal had seen since the Age of the Gods had ended.

Rin, however, noticed something odd about it.

"Why does it have such a pearly silver sheen?" she asked.

"Ah. That would be because the goblins were able to supply me with the mithril I requested. Normally they wouldn't deign to supply one such as myself with mithril thread, since it is so difficult to make, but when told who the dress I was making it was for, they were surprisingly generous. When prana is applied to this outfit, it can become the strongest armor seen in ages."

Rin and Kaede stared, though Kaede at least came out of it first.

"Why on earth would you make armor when we just came in for a dress?" asked Rin shocked.

"You do know her heritage yes? And in this recent political climate it was simply the easiest idea to go with...and when I was told her date to the ball...well, he agreed to foot the bill," said the tailor cheekily.

The two girls did a Windows Blue Screen of Death, or perhaps the new game console called the XBOX 360's red ring of death as their brains stalled.

"Could you explain, please?"

"Oh very well. England, at the moment, is at a crossroads. Within the next few decades or so, the magical world will either return to glory or go down in horrible flames. Either way, your reappearance and the fact you learned your heritage...plus the way you showed up again with the King of Heroes of all people are your familiar...well, it was a signal that things were about to change. For good or ill we have yet to determine."

"Wait, why would her heritage make any difference?" asked Rin.

"King Arturia was not only the champion of the mortals, but a long time friend of the Fae as well. We have been awaiting the return of her bloodline for centuries since Excalibur was given back. Though I must say, your choice in male companions certainly couldn't get any better!" said the man with glee.

"So...what exactly happened to Camelot?" asked Rin.

"We hid it of course. Once the Lady got angry over all the crap the mortals threw into her lake she asked us to get rid of them. We scared off the mortals and hid the place with our magic. Of course the idiot wizards went and made it into a school without realizing what it was. Our magic is _good_," said the fae in annoyance.

Kaede whimpered in horror.

"Oh dear kami... It's Hogwarts isn't it? That's why the place is so full of magic and why there were so many faeries in the forest..." she said.

"Oh good, you figured it out without me telling you. That allows me to work around the geas at least. Anyway this should protect you from most if not all attacks from the wizards."

"But I didn't even want to return to England! I hate it here!" said Kaede vehemently.

"Why?"

"According to Gil, she was traumatized by her so called aunt who was the sister of her mother and her fat husband. If she hadn't run away in Fuyuki, he likely would have killed her and dumped the body. Kaede has no fond memories of this country, especially after she was left in a house that hated magic in all forms," explained Rin.

"Ah. I had heard rumors about that among the fae from Surrey who had the scent of the Dragon King who protected the other girls... I take it that was you?" he asked carefully.

Dragon King was the nickname the fae had given Arturia because of the source of her magic.

Kaede nodded miserably.

While she still lived with the Dursleys, the moment she became aware of Vernon's...tastes...she had taken it upon herself to warn the families of anyone with girls under the age of ten. One home visit from Vernon and Petunia usually encouraged them to leave after that.

As a result, there were almost no girls in Little Whinging and even fewer boys her age. Considering the alternative, she considered that a good thing.

She always hid in her cupboard when he came home drunk though. She wasn't stupid.

"Now I don't feel guilty about including fae magic to make this even stronger," muttered the man.

They wisely didn't ask what he meant about that.

* * *

Later, when Kiritsugu had a look at it, he would wince and ask exactly how much the dress had actually cost (more than the supposed prize money for the tournament for both) and then would tell them that the one Kaede had was at least A-rank in defensive strength and spelled to alter itself into a fashionable armor when any spells of less than friendly intent hit it.

Gil would later wonder just how the hell Kaede had made a favorable impression on the Seelie court enough to only charge for the materials and labor and not the enchantments for the dress/armor...normally it would cost well over the fifteen hundred he spent for two dresses.

* * *

**_BTW, the armor form of her dress makes her look like Saber LILY without the hair sticking up. I may or may not do a third story where she and Gil go to Camelot and she becomes a knight. I already have the sequel to this one written called _****Babylon Nights_ which is set during their honeymoon. I would post it but it would give away some of what is to come._**


	8. Chapter 8

_Since someone did ask about why her hair keeps changing, I'll let you all in early on a secret. She DOES have some talent as a metamorph, though it's not exactly what you think. She's quickly becoming the next person to gain a Sorcery, specifically the Heaven's Feel. As a result, the closer she gets to obtaining that particular magic, the more her hair changes to blond. The original red was a signal or a warning if you will that her potential had been unlocked. And the faerie left her a gift when they gave her that armor...it just won't be showing up until after Medea mistakes her for Saber._

* * *

The ball was elegant, impressive...and dead boring for those who had to wait several hours for the girls to get ready.

Kaede and Rin had been all but kidnapped by the girls of Gryffindor as an apology for what Ron tried to pull, and hadn't been seen in four hours. Gil would have been worried, but Kaede had more amusement than anything from her end of their odd link.

Finally the boys heard the girls coming down.

Shiro stared, before he held out an arm for Rin. She looked absolutely gorgeous, like a noblewoman out of a fairy tale, or perhaps the trusted adviser to a queen. They went in and waited for Gil's date to show up.

Fluer, Cho and Hermione were already with their dates, and thought that they were adequately dressed for the occasion. When everyone saw what Kaede was wearing...well, they felt _underdressed_ and outclassed.

If Rin looked like a noble out for an evening's enjoyment, Kaede looked like a regal Queen straight out of a storybook.

She even had a tiara for crying out loud!

Every boy stopped and stared at her in shock...and many with lust.

Gil took her arm, acting like it wasn't any different from the rare times a song had come on the radio at home and Kaede actually danced to it in the yard while they watched in amusement.

Gil extended his arm, probably acting more mature than most of the boys would have in his situation.

"May I have this dance my queen?" he asked half-joking.

To be honest, he had been considering turning her into his partner in more ways than one before seeing her dressed up like that. Perhaps after whatever power she had fully awakened. This just cemented that idea.

When he had been alive, he had many lovers, but he had never married. Who could possibly be good enough to be the wife of the Golden King? He had thought Saber, King Arturia, might have been a decent match, but that had gone down the drain when he realized what a tomboy she was.

Her descendant, however...that was another story. Saber had been fiercely independent, and her pride was often stronger than her common sense.

Kaede was meek, but had a real sense of steel behind her timid nature. She had beauty, but she was practical. Subservient, but not about to follow all his commands. The fact she had managed to summon him at such a young age with no idea of what a Servant was...well that was icing on the cake. Plus with a known noble lineage, she was practically perfect to be his opposite.

Now if only he could hunt down the idiots trying to hurt her and make them understand what a very, very bad idea that was...

Kiritsugu choked as he watched Gil and Kaede outshine the other couples. He had to admit, despite his better judgment, the two made a very good pair. Kaede had most of Saber's good traits without the pride of the King and the need to serve her Master. She also had a better grasp on human nature than Saber ever had as well.

Still, they did look good. Gil and Kaede were more than outshining the other three couples. For one thing, they were moving properly as a team, Kaede allowing Gil to lead her into an intricate waltz.

The French girl looked properly annoyed with her date, as he was torn between drooling over her allure, and staring at Kaede whenever she came within visual range.

The Bulgarian pair, including the bookworm, were doing a passable job, but he could see the girl wince occasionally as he stepped on her toes.

The English couple, who made the only chance at comparing to Gil and Kaede, were decent enough, but they just didn't have the synchronicity that Gil had with Kaede. At least they didn't look like idiots while being outclassed like the other two.

But really, everyone was more interested in watching Gil and Kaede dance like a well oiled machine. When the rest of the dancers were allowed onto the floor, it was clear that they still wanted to watch the two.

It made most of those watching extremely jealous.

McGonagall was just happy that the poor girl had found such a reliable boyfriend, even if he was technically her familiar.

* * *

Kaede sat on the stone bench, relieved to be off her feet. This was the most fun she had in a long time, and the first time she had ever danced with someone else. It felt like a dream.

Gil chuckled as he handed her a drink. It wasn't that awful pumpkin juice the other children seemed to enjoy...it was far too sweet for her taste. Sipping it carefully, she realized it was a light wine, probably from his little storage area.

"Are they still dosing the food?" she had to ask.

"Unfortunately. However tonight they seem to have let off, probably because of the increased scrutiny and the fact that they can't exactly hide the fact the food's dosed with bland flavoring. Even with the copies of the cook books I gave them, they still can't do anything other than that mockery they call food," said Gil with a grimace.

The house elves had been less than happy with the fact Gil refused to eat their hard work. To be fair, he disliked their cooking because they were so lazy about it. He had been so disgusted by their work that he had started monitoring what they put out each day and found that they had a set schedule for the food.

It was monotonous, and from what he could tell experimenting with spices had been discouraged.

Kaede made an identical face. She had tried it once and nearly hurled at how bad it was.

"If they try to serve that crap again at breakfast, I swear to Amaterasu I'm taking over that damn kitchen with Shiro and Rin and showing these bloody English how real cooking is supposed to taste like."

"I'll guard the door," said Gil flatly.

"And I'll distract the rest," said Kiritsugu.

When informed by the foreign students of their plan, they found an unsurprising number of volunteers who wanted to give these people a wake up call.

* * *

The next morning, Kaede, Shiro and Rin took one look at the food presented and immediately started their plot.

Several of the French girls had agreed to help cook, and the Bulgarians would assist in keeping the house elves occupied.

It took them an hour to capture all the elves and put them someplace where they wouldn't bother them, before they went to work.

By lunch the attack was complete.

The Hogwarts students stared in shock at the open variety of food for lunch.

It was Hermione who voiced the opinion of the mundane and some of the half-bloods.

"It's about bloody time!" she said loudly.

"Ms. Granger, may I ask what you mean by that?" asked McGonagall frostily. She was not happy by this.

Granger didn't back down for a change.

"Whoever does the cooking in this school needs to learn some new recipes! I am sick and tired of all the same bloody food every week! Do you people not realize that eating this much fat will give you a heart attack?" she said annoyed.

Several others voiced their agreement of her assessment.

"I like chicken and pumpkin juice as much as the next bloke, but eating the same thing week after week does tend to make you tired of the same old foods," said Fred.

"Our thanks to the chef!" said George eagerly biting into a perfectly cooked fish that had been baked instead of fried for once.

"You're welcome," said Kaede flatly, followed by the others.

"Am I to assume this is your doing Ms. Emiya?" she asked.

"Among others. We are sick and tired of eating bland, overcooked food that was dosed with three separate potions alone, so we decided to do something about it. You'll find your house elves on the seventh floor," she said bluntly.

"Wait, what do you mean dosed?" shrieked Hermione.

"The house elves have, under someone's orders, been using the bland taste of the rarely poorly done food to hide the fact they were putting potions into the meals. Specifically compulsion, obedience and one that I have been told tends to leave you open to mental invasions such as Legilmency which is an art that allows you to glimpse into the minds of others. Sometimes, a love potion is even added, though from what I've been told it's rather rare."

As one, most of the students immediately turned to look at Snape. He looked pissed for some reason.

"Before any of you start a mob, I can tell you with certainty that the potions added to the food was _not_ the work of Severus Snape. For one thing, I cannot imagine someone of his rather...OCD...nature would make a less than perfect potion, let alone bother to dose a school full of children when anyone who's been around him can tell he hates being around anyone who is younger than twenty," she said clinically.

"What's OCD?" piped one of the younger students.

"Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's a condition that some people have that make them do certain things repeatedly. Like clean a room without noticing it or tapping their fingers in a certain pattern when nervous. Come to think of it, that would describe his nature around potions rather well," said Hermione automatically, looking at Snape closely.

"Or like you when we bring up something you don't recognize and you automatically go to the first books on the subject," chuckled Fred.

"In any case, whoever is doing this has open access to the kitchens and enough authority to keep the house elves from mentioning it. If you wish to avoid being dosed with these potions again, then start using bezoars or ask the house elves to let you cook your own meal," finished Kaede.

George however had a question.

"Quick question, Kaede... are you lot going to make dinner as well?" he asked.

Everyone looked at them in expectation.

Kaede sniffed in annoyance.

"Until these...house elves...are up to club standards, as high-tiered members of the Japanese Academy for Magic's Cooking club we cannot allow this atrocity that claims to be food to continue!" she said.

Seeing the agreement on the foreign student's faces, the teachers had no choice but to submit.

Kaede and Shiro ended up returning home a month late because of how stubborn the elves were. But it was entirely worth it if the atrocity they called cooking was abolished and real food put into its place.

* * *

Kiritsugu had the three children in his 'classroom' dedicated to fighting Magi without actually following their rules. Rin was only there because she had the feeling it would come back to bite her in the ass if she didn't show up.

"Today we are going to talk about Servants. According to Gil, the Heaven's Feel Tournament will be restarting in less than two years, so you three will need to be very aware of what is going to happen, and if necessary, how to summon a Servant you can actually _use_. For now we'll start on how this war started."

Kiritsugu went up to the projector screen and the three watched him intently.

"In the beginning, there were three families who agreed to try and regain a lost sorcery known as the Third True Magic. This was primarily the goal of the first family, the alchemy and homunculi specialists known as the Von Einzbern clan. They agreed to supply the physical aspect of the Grail and the ability for Servants to take corporeal form once summoned."

He brought up a picture of a typical homunculus, and the original Justica model which served as the main body for the grail itself.

"Next is the Makiri clan, now known as the Matou. Today the only true Magus of that clan is Zouken Matou, the head of the Matou clan," said Kiritsugu. He saw Kaede holding up her hand.

"Yes?"

"I thought Sakura-chan was a Matou," she said.

"Sakura is an adopted member. She is mostly a replacement since Shinji is the Magus equivalent of a Squib and unlikely to have any heirs which will have proper circuits."

Rin flinched at the reminder. Kaede looked at her oddly, as if comparing something in her head before she said something.

"Rin...is Sakura by any chance your younger sister?"

Rin choked in surprise.

"Why do you ask?" she said faintly.

"She looks nothing like Shinji, and he just said that the only Matou magus is Zouken, who's a known parasite. And your reaction is a dead giveaway that something is up. So what happened?" asked Kaede.

Shiro looked at Rin curiously.

"My family only needed one heir, and my father decided I would be chosen as the one to be the next head because I'm an Average One. Sakura was handed over to the Matou clan about a year or two before the Fourth Grail War started," said Rin.

Kiritsugu's eyes widened before he thought about something and winced.

"What's wrong dad?" asked Shiro.

"Among other things, the Matou clan is known for specializing in the use of certain types of familiars. Specifically Crest and Blood worms," he said not looking happy one bit.

"What are..."

"How well known is this?" hissed Rin.

"Fairly well known," said Kiritsugu.

"That...that bastard!" snapped Rin.

"What is it?"

"I bet my father knew about them and handed her over anyway!" said Rin in disgust. Any lingering sadness over the death of her father vanished in an instant upon hearing what he had condemned her sister to.

Any magus worth their salt knew of crest worms...they were the lowest of the low familiar wise and considered the worst familiar around. It wasn't because of their looks or anything, but because of what happened when one was infested in them.

Crest worms could destroy a man in a few days, mostly through damage to the spinal column, among other things. However when a girl was infested...well. They had more than one reason to hate the things.

"What's a crest worm?" asked Shiro.

"Shiro-nii... remember how I said Sakura was a lot like me in some ways, only no one saved her in time?" said Kaede slowly.

Shiro processed that statement before he blanched.

"Unfortunately we can't exactly storm the place and retrieve her. And knowing that leech Zouken he has contingency plans in place if we were to kidnap her. However that doesn't mean we can't plan accordingly," said Kiritsugu regretful.

"What did you have in mind?" said Rin. No way in hell was she letting something like this go without a fight.

"We know the Grail War is due to start in another two years at least. It's also impossible for us to attack Zouken head on to rescue Sakura. However, we can plan to summon Servants adept at this sort of thing so that we can rescue her once the war starts and kill Zouken off. Preferably before he forces her to summon one of her own," said Kiritsugu.

"It's more likely he'll make her summon one then force her to hand it over to Shinji," spat Rin.

"In any case, it's times like these that I specialize in. The most I can do to help you is to deal with the bounded fields...rescuing her would be entirely up to you three," said Kiritsugu. Then he shook his head.

"Anyway we seem to have gotten far off topic. The Makiri clan is responsible for the Command sigils that appear on the hand of every Master..."

And so went the lesson.


	9. Chapter 9

It was another lesson on the Grail War, but this time Kaede had been introduced to something...odd.

"What's this?" asked Shiro.

"You know that habit of Gil's that I seem to have picked up?"

"You mean manga and anime?" asked Shiro.

"Well apparently we're not the only Magi who have it. I ran into that weird apostle guy again, and he handed me something to put into my computer," said Kaede.

"Weird...apostle...guy?" said Kiritsugu, a pit in his stomach.

"Yeah, the one who got me hooked into summons and that series _Chrono Crusade._ He said he heard about our lessons and wanted to give us a minor boost," said Kaede very confused.

"By any chance was he an older man with a beard and happened to vanish much like a wizard would only without the crack?" asked Kiritsugu in dread.

"Hai!" said Kaede far too cheerfully.

"Dammit...not again..." muttered Kiritsugu.

Rin showed up and saw the flash drive.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Flash drive. Hang on while I start the show!" said Kaede far too cheerfully.

Kiritsugu took one look at the information on the flash drive...and face planted.

It was some weird Omake series called 'Please! Einzbern Consultation Room' that Zelretch had found and thought amusing. One of the main stars was his dead wife Irisviel...and some girl named Zecchan who apparently was of the opinion he was 'creepy'. **(AN:THIS IS ACTUALLY _ON_ YOUTUBE.)**

While it did explain the basics rather well, the theatrics and reminder of his dead wife he could do _without_. He left before he saw the ending though.

"What...the...hell?" said Rin.

"Did that weird vampire give you this?" asked Shiro tiredly.

Kaede nodded.

"Kaede-chan...could you do us a favor?" asked Shiro.

"What?"

"Quit accepting things from that damn Zelretch!" shouted Rin.

* * *

_(Sorry, had to get that out of my system...back to the real story!)_

Gil looked at the hedge maze with distaste... at least now he could eat the food prepared. Though for some reason the elves had continued to dose the children despite the fact that it was pointless.

At this juncture, it was entirely likely that the culprit was unaware of the fact they knew, or that the teachers had taken to patrolling the kitchens to catch the one responsible.

The last task was a maze, at the end of which they had to retrieve the same cup that had dragged him into this nonsense.

Gil wasn't going to settle for just grabbing the thing...he was going to completely destroy it.

"In one month we'll go into the third phase. Gil, as the lead in points you'll be first of course," said Bagman grandly.

"Che. Remember Brit, I have no interest in your so called prize, and the fame is nothing compared to what I already have," snapped Gil.

He didn't like this...he was falling into familiar patterns of arrogant behavior and it was bothering him. Around Kaede, that wasn't a problem. But without her...he was quickly returning to being Gilgamesh rather than just Gil.

And to be perfectly honest, he didn't really _like_ Gilgamesh that much, despite all the power, fame and wealth he had. As the old saying went...it's lonely at the top.

Gil had a sudden chill go down his back. Something horrible had just happened.

* * *

Kaede was walking home from normal school when she ran into _him_ again.

Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Wizard Marshal and master of Kaleidoscope.

Also known as Rin's Bane.

"Hello again Kaede-chan!" he said cheerfully.

Kaede leveled a look at him.

"You're about to do something that will anger Rin again aren't you?"

"Hehehe...maybe~" grinned Zelretch.

"What are you going to give me this time...and why do you keep using me to anger her?"

"One, you're the only person who knows who I am and still accept things from me. Two, because you've got a talent for sorcery and I don't want to see it go to waste. Plus you always give me pictures of her reaction after anyway," smirked the old vampire.

"True. Which sorcery?"

"The third one. You didn't think summoning half of Gilgamesh was an accident did you?" he answered her.

"Wait, only _half_?"

"Fufufu... The night you summoned Gilgamesh, his soul was split into two classes. One's in the Church, under the Archer class, while yours is the Saber. I've looked at your Gil, and he seems to embody all the better traits of the Golden King, while the other is rather arrogant. By the time the Fifth Grail War ends, only one of the personalities will survive."

Kaede shivered. She didn't want to lose Gil.

"Which is why I've come to drop something off!" he said far too cheerfully.

"Like I said, you're mostly doing this to annoy Rin again aren't you?" she said dryly.

"Well, that's a bonus," he admitted.

"So what exactly are you dumping on me this time?" she asked tiredly.

He handed her some sort of odd thing with six wings attached. Her eyebrows twitched rampantly.

"Please tell me this is _not_ what I think it is..." she asked.

Zelretch just grinned.

"Rin will _kill_ me if I show up home with that thing!" she said flatly.

"Yes, but consider this. With the Kaleidostick with you, you won't actually _need_ a Servant to nab the Grail."

"Why would I _want_ the Grail? The thing's broken!" she said.

"Hmm, a valid counter argument. How about this, accept the staff and you can use it to discipline Gil and later Saber when they get out of hand," he said.

"By discipline you mean..."

"Spam their attacks," he answered readily.

"Does this _thing_ copy any Servant I come across?"

"So long as you can touch them physically yes."

"Again, why do I know Rin is going to kill me for bringing this home with me?"

Zelretch just smirked.

* * *

Rin's eyebrow twitched rampantly, and it didn't look like she would be stopping anytime soon.

"Kaede-chan...what have we said about accepting gifts from strangers?" asked Kiritsugu tiredly.

"But I knew him," deadpanned Kaede.

"Kaede, they don't get much stranger than Zelretch!" shouted Rin.

In Kaede's hand was a Kaleidostick...though thankfully it wasn't Ruby or Sapphire. Zelretch seemed to enjoy his personal messenger of headaches (Kaede) enough that he made a new one. Kaleidostick Amethyst.

He even included all the cards that went with it, though she would have to wait until the next Grail War (or until Gil got back for the eighth card) before she could actually _use_ them. He even included a helpful instruction manual for the thing.

"Kaede...I thought I said no more accepting gifts from that old vampire..." said Kiritsugu.

"He said it was a disciplinary tool for Gil and any Servants I summon later. And that if I survived to the end I wouldn't even need a Servant to grab the Grail so he can destroy it permanently."

She deliberately didn't mention that she could potentially unlock the Third True Magic, which was the entire purpose for the Grail War. Rin was in a bad enough mood already.

Zelretch said that she was almost ready to manifest the Sorcery...she just had to wake it up first. For now she was going to forget he said anything. She was a Witch, not a Magus.

* * *

Gil looked at the maze with disgust. One of the things the judges hadn't said was that the Quidditch pitch was entirely off-limits, so he spent a few hours each day memorizing the layout from one of the towers. Then he spent an hour making sure his map was accurate. They never said that he could only bring his 'wand' to the third task, but it was more implied.

He wanted to finish this and be done with it.

Kaede launched herself at Gil when they came back to England.

It took him exactly six seconds to realize something was off about her.

"Did you change your hair color?" he asked.

Where her hair was once pure red the color of bright flames, it was now liberally streaked with gold...a color he had last seen on Saber, her ancestor.

Her bangs were now entirely gold.

"I know, right? We woke up one morning and originally we thought she was going white early," said Shiro tiredly.

Ever since then her hair had slowly been changing from red to gold.

"Any idea what caused it?" he asked.

Gil remembered very well that her hair had been a dirty black when they first met, yet after she washed it, it had become red the color of flames. Perhaps this was another transformation?

"No...but it started the morning after _he_ made another appearance..." said Kiritsugu irritably.

Gil turned to his Master.

"Kae...what have we said about accepting things from Zelretch?"

"He mostly did it to piss off Rin?" she offered.

Gil sighed. Why, oh why did his Master trust that asshole?

"Please tell me you at least have a plan," said Kiritsugu to Gil privately.

"These people are _idiots_. They never banned the overlooking view of the maze outright or the idea that someone would think to make a map and put it in their pocket. I also procured some hair spray from some of the Gryffindor girls, and a simple fire spell would allow me to access the easier routes through the maze. All I have to do is knock over the stupid cup and we're done with this hellhole," said Gil flatly.

Kiritsugu nodded appreciatively.

"Gil, take this as a good luck charm," said Kaede, handing him an odd card. It had a single word on it, and a picture of a noble with a crown.

_**Ruler**_**.**

"What's this?" asked Gil.

"According to the manual Zelretch gave me for the staff, Ruler is an unknown Servant class that can override a Master's Command Seal. They have the same stats as Saber with Archer's Independent Action ability. They're supposed to be a Mediator for the Grail wars, but Avenger usually gets summoned instead."

"And why not hand me the Saber card?" asked Gil, honestly curious.

"Zelretch said that if I want these cards to work like they're supposed to, I have to come in physical contact with the Servants. And since Shiro-nii has _that_, well I want to save Saber for her."

"Smart."

"I think Zelretch was trying to warn me. That your Class will change during the war..."

Gil looked at Kaede.

"You're afraid something will happen don't you?"

"He said that I only summoned half of you. That's why your Class changed from Archer to Saber..." she whispered.

"I was afraid of that. For now let's wait until we get home before we figure out what to do about that," said Gil.

Gil waited before he entered the maze. Using a minor light charm, he looked at his map before taking a right. Thanks to his map (and liberal use of a fire spell and flammable liquids) Gil made it to the center in ten minutes.

He picked up a decent sized rock and tossed it at the cup. It was more of a precautionary measure than anything, as he was well aware of what a port key was.

So to his minor disappointment, the cup vanished the moment the rock knocked it off the pedestal. Too bad...he had a Noble Phantasm ready to destroy the damn thing.

The maze fell down, as they were charmed to self-destruct the moment the cup left the pedestal.

Seeing the shocked looks of everyone, the entire crowd took a moment before they cheered. It was an abrupt end to a rather boring tournament, and it was the champion who sent their familiar in their place who won.

Seeing their disbelieving looks, Gil shrugged.

"You never banned us from making a map, and I'm in the art club," he said in way of explanation.

Seeing the surprised looks on the judges, it was clear that the idea of a champion making a map by using an overlooking view had never even occurred to them.

Bagman suddenly noticed something.

"Where's the goblet?"

"Some idiot turned it into a portkey. I threw a rock at it to knock it off just in case. A pity, because I fully planned to destroy it if it wasn't," he said bluntly.

And so the whole nonsense ended.

* * *

"Thank the gods! I hate England!" said Gil, taking a deep breath of Japanese air.

After the entire mess with the Goblet of Fire, Gil had narrowly managed to avoid the Englishmen's attempts to bring his master back.

He came home to find it in an uproar, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

Kaede had, in a fit of boredom, decided to practice with the Kaleidostick Amethyst to Rin's increasing irritation.

Gil took one look at those fluffy little cat ears and had to lean against the side of the door from laughing so hard. It didn't help that for some reason she had a tail to go along with it that looked like it came off a lion, or that she had somehow grown claws to boot.

He found Shiro holding a camera and taking plenty of blackmail pictures for later.

"You know once you get over the shock...it's not actually that bad?" said Kaede in surprise.

"Does this mean I can drag you to cosplay conventions and you won't hex me for it?" said Gil smirking.

Kaede _hated_ dressing up!

"Possibly, if I choose the costume first."

"So what's with the armor? I mean with that get-up you almost look like a two-toned Saber, only without the stray hair that she had," said Gil.

"Would you believe that this is the same dress I wore to that ball?" she asked.

"Considering who made it, absolutely," he said honestly.

Her dress was white as fallen snow, with mithril armor and black outlines. She looked like a proper English Knight, the female version anyway. Her back was exposed as was most of her shoulders. The dress itself looked like a lily that had opened up, and her hair was held back by a large black ribbon. With her looks and the fact her hair had been going blond for some time, she looked like a more feminine version of Saber.

"Saber Lily," snorted Gil.

"That's actually not a bad name for her," said Kiritsugu. He had the same opinion of that outfit that Gil did. She looked like a pure, more feminine version of Saber in that outfit and with her hair held back.

"It actually suits you," said Shiro in surprise.

Gil smirked.

"I guess when the Fae decided to make you armor, they do so in a way that it can still be classed as beautiful. Who would have expected something like this when they made that dress for you?" said Gil.


	10. Chapter 10

Ever since she unlocked her armor, Kaede had spent several hours learning how to use a sword from Gil. Taiga was a good instructor, but only if one wanted to learn how to use a katana. Shiro was decent, but they learned early on he specialized in two sword style and a rather obscure one that Kiritsugu recognized but didn't know the name of.

Which left Gil as the only one able to train her in the use of a broadsword.

The Kaleidostick, which was thankfully _not_ a pervert like the others, would turn into a sword on Kiritsugu could identify.

Caliburn, the sword that chose the rightful king of Britain.

According to Amethyst, this sword was preloaded into it's weapon selection by Zelretch himself, though where he found this sword which had been lost long after Alturia had taken Excalibur they had no idea. Probably snagged it from another world, Kiritsugu had reasoned.

With that sword the comparison to Saber, Alturia Pendragon, was almost impossible to ignore.

Kaede just wished that she never had to set foot in England again, because she had no desire to rule over it as the rightful heir. She had enough problems.

It didn't hurt her case that over in Britain, things had gone from poor, to worse.

Rumors spoke of the one called Voldemort somehow finding a forbidden ritual and coming back to life. Death Eaters, who had remained inactive for the better part of a decade, were dusting off their old gear in preparation for a new war.

A few months after the Tournament, the Academy got some new students from England. Shortly after their arrival and the spread of rumors of Voldemort's return, all magical travel outside of Europe ceased entirely. Old protocols from the seventies were updated, and new warnings of any terrorist attacks were made into top priority.

England and the surrounding countries might be unprepared and poorly matched for Voldemort, but everyone else was waiting for the beginnings of a new war. Europe could fall, but the world would keep on turning the second Voldemort tried to move past his isolated world.

Fred, George, and Luna were welcomed and allowed to stay in Japan once the transfer papers were finalized. Luna would live with her father, who would continue the Quibbler from their new home in Misaki city while Fred and George took up Kiritsugu's offer to stay at his house.

* * *

"What's this?" asked Kaede, looking at the box Gil had dropped in her lap.

"Open it and see," he said cryptically. Kaede was turning fifteen soon, and he had been planning this for months.

Kaede's breath caught when she saw the beautiful amethyst and diamond ring inside the box. It was charmed to fit any finger she put it on, and it was obvious what the ring was meant for.

"Gil, this is..."

Gil got on one knee and asked her the question.

"Kaede, once the Grail War is over will you marry me?" he asked.

"Oh Gil..." she said, hugging him tightly.

"Well it's about damn time!" said Rin loudly.

Kaede realized that they had an audience. Kiritsugu, Rin and Shiro had all come to watch the show.

"You knew?"

Rin rolled her eyes.

"Kaede, the only one who _didn't_ see this coming was you. You're the closest one to Gilgamesh and everyone knows he had fallen for you by the time the two of you danced at that ball. Hell, even he knew about this coming!" said Rin, hooking a thumb at Kiritsugu.

"To be fair, he had already brought out the ring long before the second task," said Kiritsugu. Shiro nodded.

"You're not mad?" she asked him.

"Gil is likely the only person who could possibly understand you after the hell you went through. And it's not illegal so long as both parties are recognized as being human. Gil is a Servant, and the Japanese Ministry recognized him as human enough to take your place in that damn tournament. As far as I'm concerned the two of you were made for each other," said Kiritsugu flatly.

If this had been his daughter Illya, he might have raised more of a fuss, but this was Kaede. Kaede needed someone who she knew she could trust to be there for her when things were at their worst, and there was no one better to stand by her than Gil.

"Besides..." Kiritsugu added as an afterthought. They all looked at him, "It will be amusing to see the look on Alturia's face when she realizes that her granddaughter is betrothed to the same Servant who kept trying to get into her pants during the last war."

Kaede grinned outright evilly.

"I can't wait for the war to start... when Saber comes back the first thing I'm going to say to her is 'Hi Grandma!' Think she'll faint?" asked Kaede innocently.

Gil snorted before he laughed outright.

"If you do that then please, make sure someone has a magical camera to capture her reaction to the fact she's a grandmother and that I'm your boyfriend!" he said laughing.

Oh yes, Alturia Pendragon was in for a lot of ribbing once the Grail Wars started up again.

* * *

Sirius Black, godfather of Rowena Potter, was not having a good time. After the near ill-fated adventure almost two years ago, he had thought his goddaughter was safe at Hogwarts.

He found out the hard way that not only was Rowena _missing _since she was seven, but that she had never stepped foot in the school. It was only thanks to a brilliant muggleborn witch and some good luck that he had escaped the school again with his life.

He had spent the next year and a half looking for his goddaughter. Remus had helped once Snivillus had let it be known that Remus was a werewolf, forcing him to resign. Neither of them had relied on the help of the old crowd, seeing as how it was Dumbledore's fault Rowena had gone missing in the first place. He never should have placed her with Petunia.

Finally the two of them ended up in Japan, after they heard a comment about the barbarians in the East and Remus had put two-and-two together.

They were picked up by the Japanese Guardians five minutes after Sirius' magical signature was registered in the land.

It took them three days and two interrogations before they were permitted to leave the Guardian's temple in Kyoto.

Sirius and Remus were tired. Nearly two years of searching and they still had no idea where Rowena was. Unfortunately Sirius couldn't access his vaults from England since Japan had banned any transport from that area once it was confirmed Voldemort had returned. So Remus decided to try another go at teaching. He found a job at a magical academy between Fuyuki and Tokyo.

Sirius acted as Remus' familiar, since it would be better than to chance fate after all the wanted posters.

"Welcome to the Academy Lupin-san. I hear that you are a werewolf," said Headmaster Sasuke.

Remus tensed.

"Relax. We in Japan do not hold the same bigoted prejudice towards those cursed by the lunar wolf that the Europeans have. So long as you do not purposely bite a student or harm others you will have no trouble from any of the staff or the students. Now I can only assume this is Black-san?"

Sirius shifted into his human form.

"Please, call me Sirius. Hearing someone call me Mr. Black makes me want to look for my father," said Sirius.

Sasuke looked at how frail Sirius was.

"Perhaps a few months in the Academy will do you two good...the both of you look like death warmed over. Now, from what my sources have told me you two have spent the better part of nearly two years looking for Rowena Potter?" he said.

The two wizards froze.

"You know where she is?"

"I do. Unfortunately due to circumstances from before she became a student, it would be ill-advised for you two to meet her at this time. There is also the fact that your Ministry recently tried to force her into a tournament that could very well have killed her last year," said Sasuke.

"What circumstances?" asked Sirius, his mouth dry.

"Both of you should sit down for this."

The headmaster told them of the trauma Kaede had suffered before her arrival and subsequent adoption in Japan, and how she had legally changed her name to avoid the English. How the British Ministry had tried to force her to participate in the Tri-Wizard tournament only to be foiled by Kaede's familiar Gil.

If they hadn't been sitting down, Sirius and Remus might have fallen over in shock at the news they had been given. Sirius looked horrified at the abuse his goddaughter had suffered because he had put revenge first.

"There is some good news however. Kaede-san has almost recovered to the abuse and is able to handle being around people in small doses. However she does occasionally suffer relapses. If you were to come up to her without warning, she might not want to be around the two of you. If you really want to meet her properly, you'll have to go slowly so she can get used to being around you," he told them.

"Forget Dumbledore. I'm not leaving her twice, especially not after hearing how she suffered under that woman's care!" said Sirius vehemently.

"I agree. The Order can go hang themselves...Rowena...no, Kaede, needs us more than Dumbledore does," said Remus.

"Good. Now you'll be happy to hear that we can put the two of you on the staff if you wish, and you can use this time to recover from the past decade or so. Forcing the werewolf down has done you no favors Lupin-san, and you look like you might need some therapy after the damage the dementors did to you Sirius-san," said Sasuke.

"It would probably be best if I did go though therapy. I would likely terrify my poor goddaughter if she saw me right now," said Sirius chuckling.

* * *

Kaede went with Gil to the Headmaster's office. The only time students were brought in was if they had done something really bad, or serious news had arrived. She just hoped it wasn't more English come to try and take her away.

"Emiya-san. Gil-san. Please sit. I have news you two will want to hear," he said.

"It's not more English is it?" asked Kaede.

"More English," he confirmed, before adding, "But these at least have seen the light of reason."

Gil snorted in disbelief. An English Magical with reason? He would believe it when he saw it.

"Quite. Now a month ago two English wizards came to our shores and one of them registered as the escaped convict known as Black Sirius. We've recently changed his status from 'criminal' to 'refugee'" said the headmaster.

"I take it that's not all?" said Gil, his arm around his fiancee.

"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin found their way to the Academy. Both are teaching classes, though Sirius is undergoing therapy for the years he spent in Azkaban illegally. I have informed them that you are here Kaede, but they've agreed to wait until you're ready to meet them before they try to talk to you. After hearing how badly Dumbledore screwed up by leaving you at your so-called maternal aunt's home, they are not inclined to remove you from Japan."

"What do you mean Dumbledore left her in that house?" said Gil angrily.

"According to Lupin, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid were there when he left Kaede on the woman's doorstep. Hagrid was inconsolable and the woman warned Dumbledore repeatedly that those people weren't the best placement for you. From what Remus heard she had spent the entire day watching them."

Kaede looked beyond angry. She was furious. Gil looked even more pissed.

"Another thing you should be aware of is that Lupin-san is a werewolf. Black is an animagus."

"Are you sure they won't try anything?" asked Gil.

"Like I said, I gave them the terms for them to meet her openly. Black is undergoing therapy and Remus will wait until you are ready to meet him first. They seemed ready to rip these...people...to shreds when I told them of the years of therapy you had to go through before you could handle being around men."

Kaede winced at the reminder. That had not been the best part of her life. She had gotten over her fear, but she would always avoid men, particularly if they were yelling.

Gil had learned the hard way never to raise his voice in her presence. While she would still stay around him when he was shouting, that didn't mean she wouldn't flinch.

"Coincidentally, congratulations on your betrothal Kaede and Gil," said Sasuke winking at them both.

"You knew?" she said.

"There's an ongoing bet between the staff and the students as to _when_ Gil would propose. Suffice to say you two won me the pot since I had wagered on it within a year after the tournament those idiot English had set up," he said laughing.

Kaede pouted, but her eyes were laughing. Gil smirked.

* * *

_Six months later..._

Sirius was practically wearing down a grove into the floor. It had taken the better part of a year before the therapist had cleared him to meet Kaede. Of course she had also warned of the girl having a very overprotective boyfriend, but Sirius could care less about that part.

So long as this Gil never hurt his goddaughter, he wouldn't mind if the boy was a werewolf or a vampire. Though from the rumors he had heard, this kid looked like a vampire...

"Sirius, sit down already!" said Remus tiredly.

Japan had been good for the two of them. Some of the gray in Remus' hair had started to go back to brown, and Sirius looked like he had quite a few good meals under his belt.

There was a knock at the door, and it slid open. A red haired boy with brown eyes walked in with a girl that had black hair in twin tails and a red outfit.

Sirius looked at Remus. He shook his head. This wasn't Kaede...besides she was far too confident from the report the headmaster had given.

Suddenly Remus stiffened. His inner wolf was yelling at him to get the hell out of there and _now_ before he was killed. Wondering who could cause that reaction he tensed visibly as a blond boy with bright red eyes walked in like he owned the place...next to a red and gold haired girl with green.

Sirius took one look at the second girl and knew without a doubt that this was Kaede. Her eyes were pure Lily, though he had to wonder why her hair was such an odd color.

Having streaks of blond amid the red is not normal unless you were a metamorphamagus. And last time he checked, his goddaughter wasn't one of those.

Gil looked at Black first. He seemed to be the bigger threat.

"So...you are Kaede's godfather," he said calmly.

"I take it you're the boyfriend?" he said in return.

"Gilgamesh of Uruk," he said flatly. Remus choked behind Sirius, recognizing the name immediately.

"Sirius Orion Black," he said in return.

The two snorted, having sized each other up and dismissed the other.

"For the love of kami, pack it in already!" said Rin.

Kaede snorted. Trust Rin to diffuse the situation.

"So...why is your hair two different colors?" asked Remus, trying to ignore the golden-haired teen in the room for fear that he would kill him on the spot.

"We suspect that her body is changing in response to a Sorcery that is slowly taking hold. Being able to sustain a Servant, especially Saber class, before learning about any magic is nearly impossible. However if she had been born with a predisposition to a specific Sorcery, then it might be possible," said Gil.

"Sorcery?" said Sirius.

"The Third True magic, or the Materialization of the Soul. Basically she would be a walking prana battery," said Gil.

Sirius looked torn between horrified and intrigued. Wizards considered the soul sacred, and even the idea of harming it was deemed beyond dark magic. There was a reason why they hated Horcruxes.

Remus had no such reservations.

"What is the difference between Sorcery and Magic?" he asked.

Rin recited the poem to describe the five remaining True Magics. Any true Magus knew of it.

"_The beginning first changed everything.  
The following second acknowledged many.  
The resulting third showed the future.  
The linking fourth concealed itself.  
And the final fifth had already lost its meaning."_

(Taken from the Type-Moon wiki.)

"Kaede, from what we know, has the potiential to unlock the third true magic, what some call the Heaven's Feel. We don't know what would trigger her gaining the Third True Magic, but we know it will happen sometime during the Fifth Grail War at least," said Gil.

"Fascinating," said Remus.

As they chatted, Kaede stayed close to Gil, but she hadn't run from the room screaming yet either. Considering how this meeting could have gone, that was actually a good thing. Sirius and Remus were allowed to be within five feet of her, but only as long as Gil came with her. At least they had made a start.


	11. Chapter 11

Shiro was walking Sakura home when she noticed his arm bleeding. When he went home, he found Kaede frowning at the mark on her arm.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The Grail is sending out the Command Seals to those it has marked as Masters," said Kiritsugu. So it had begun. He planned to leave the house until the Servants had all been summoned. He didn't want to get picked by accident.

Rin came in looking distinctly unhappy.

"I take it you've all been picked as well?" she asked. Kaede and Shiro showed her the marks.

"We'll team up with you so we can destroy this stupid Grail once and for all," said Kaede.

Kiritsugu put a book on the table.

"Here is the full ritual for summoning. Shiro, you had better summon before tomorrow. Kaede, I don't know if Gil will qualify as your Servant or not since you summoned him before the war even started," said Kiritsugu.

"I don't think I'll qualify," said Gil. He looked like he was sick or something.

"Gil! What's wrong with you?"

"I think the Grail is throwing up a fuss now that the war has restarted. You might have to resummon me later," he said pale.

"I'm almost positive you'll have to resummon him under a new Class. There can't be two of the same Servant hanging around unless there is something keeping them here," said Kiritsugu.

"And to make matters worse the Gilgamesh you are already familiar with is still around. Add to the fact Shiro will almost certainly summon _her_...well, you don't need me to spell it out do you?" said Gil looking even worse.

Kiritsugu's head whipped around.

"What do you mean Gilgamesh is still around?"

"I mean he's inside the Church, feasting on the souls of the orphans that were placed there," said Gil.

"How do you know that?" asked Rin looking ill.

"I've been getting glimpses from his mind for several years now...it wasn't until recently I realized what was going on. He's aware that I exist as well, but he doesn't know where or what I look like beyond the fact I appear to be him. From what we've been able to tell, Kaede somehow managed to summon all the better aspects of the King of Heroes while his less pleasant ones stayed in the Church."

Rin made a face.

"I bet that damn Kotomine is the one supplying him," she said.

"He is."

"In that case you two had better summon your Servants and fast," said Kiritsugu.

* * *

Rin was the first to summon her Servant, and once she got a good look at him she barely repressed the urge to cackle. Oh this would be amusing to see Archer's face when he realized Kiritsugu was still alive. And Shiro's once he found out who her Servant was.

* * *

Kaede was summoning inside Rin's house, as she wanted to surprise Alturia with her own Servant first. Kiritsugu had already left, though he had given the twins a magical camera with the order to make sure they got the Kaede double's look when she realized that she had a granddaughter.

From the cackles of the twins, they were sure to take several shots.

Kaede felt something tug against her magic, and fought back. Someone was summoning the same Servant, and she wasn't going to let them win. Finally she won the minor tug of war, though her hair shifted more to blond than it had been. At the rate she was going there wasn't going to be a strand of red left in her hair!

"Are you my master?" she asked bowing.

"I am."

"Servant Rider," she said.

Kaede frowned.

"Why are you wearing a blindfold?" she had to ask.

"If I did not, then I might turn you into stone by mistake," she replied.

Turned to stone? There was only one hero she knew of that had that power...but she had better check.

"_How fascinating. By any chance do you know of Athena?"_ she asked in parseltongue.

Rider tensed, her facial features contorting in rage before she remembered who she was with. This was her Master, whether she liked it or not.

"I knew it. You're Medusa aren't you?"

Medusa, for that was her true name, looked at her Master in shock.

"How did you know so quickly?"

"The only legendary figure I know of that could turn the unwary to stone with their gaze and speak parseltongue is Medusa. Fortunately I don't own any owls, and I've never fully believed the Greeks to be all that smart either. Fate has already tried to screw me over once," said Kaede.

Medusa relaxed a bit.

"Are you done yet?" asked Gil.

"Gil, meet Rider," said Kaede, kissing him on the cheek.

"Hello. Keep her safe until I get back will you?" said Gil.

"Where are you going?" Medusa had to ask.

"Kaede has to resummon me. There can't be two Saber class Servants around, not unless we want double the Servants in the war," explained Gil.

He then looked at his girlfriend.

"Use the ring as your artifact. That should bring me back," said Gil.

He vanished into spirit particles, though he didn't go back into the Grail. Instead he went back into Archer Gilgamesh until Kaede could figure out how to bring him out.

"Let's head back. Hopefully Shiro will have summoned Saber already so we can make her faint," said Kaede eagerly.

* * *

"Are you my Master?" asked Saber.

Shiro showed her his Command Seals.

"Then by the Holy Grail's Refuge, Servant Saber has answered your summons," she said formally.

"Just to warn you Saber, there's going to be at least one other Servant who will be living with me. So don't attack them on sight," he said.

"Understood."

"Shiro! I'm back and I brought a friend!" came a girl's voice.

Shiro and Saber went into the living room where Fred and George were waiting eagerly with the camera prepped and ready.

Saber immediately saw Rider, and realized that this must be the second Servant. Then she saw Rider's Master and her jaw almost dropped.

It was like looking into a mirror. If it wasn't for the fact that this girl was looking at her with anything but hate, she would have sworn that she was seeing Mordred.

"Welcome back Kaede. So who's your friend?"

"Her name is Rider," said the girl. Then she looked right at Saber and smiled.

"Hi Grandma!"

Saber took a few moments to process this statement, before her mind shut down and she keeled over in a faint. She vaguely noticed the cameras in the twin's hands going off and catching her moment of weakness.

"Oh my gods... Did you see the look on her face?" Kaede cracked up.

Shiro was trying (and failing) not to laugh at Saber's expression when Kaede called her 'grandma'. That was hilarious.

"Shiro! Is dinner ready yet?" came Rin's voice.

"Give me a few minutes to get started...and watch where you walk! We have a fainted Servant in here!" said Shiro.

"You mean I missed it? Damn!" said Rin.

"We'll show you the memory later Rin!" said Kaede.

Rider tensed when she sensed Archer, but Kaede shook her head.

"So Rin, which ones were drawn?" asked Kaede.

"Berserker was drawn first, then Lancer, Caster, Archer, Rider and of course Saber. So all that's left is Assassin," said Rin, stepping over the fainted Saber.

Archer's look of disbelief when he saw Saber on the floor looking like someone had slapped her silly with a fish was almost as amusing as the doubletake he did when he saw Kaede.

Once Shiro was done with dinner, Saber had woken up and was displeased to learn that the twins had taken pictures of her fainting spell. She looked at Kaede with a piercing gaze.

"What you said earlier..."

"You're my ancestor. We learned at the bank that my many-times ancestor was Mordred, though Gil had suspected something the first time he saw my green eyes. Something about how only the child of Alturia could have been able to summon him without knowing what magic was," said Kaede.

"Gil?"

"Her betrothed. Let me guess, you're going to wait until Assassin is drawn before you try to bring him back," said Rin. Gilgamesh could assume any class _but_ Assassin.

"Her betrothed? How old is she?!" said Archer looking incredulous.

"I'm almost sixteen. Gil thought it was a better idea to ask for my hand before any of the other idiots pressed their luck first," said Kaede.

"Who is Gil?" asked Saber, not sure she wanted her 'granddaughter' to marry someone, despite having just met her.

Saber might have only been summoned, but she took family seriously. After the mess she had made with Mordred, she was determined to at least try to get along with anyone of her bloodline.

Rin was grinning evilly now. The twins got their cameras ready to capture Archer and Saber's expressions.

"Gilgamesh of Uruk," said Kaede as if that was the most normal thing in the world, sipping her tea.

Saber's reaction was immediate.

"That blackguard?!" she nearly shrieked.

"Gil is the nicest person you would ever meet!" said Kaede angrily at her grandmother.

"Gilgamesh is the spawn of the devil," hissed Saber.

"Gilgamesh, from what we've heard, is an asshole. Gil, however is Kaede's overprotective boyfriend. He once stared down a dragon just because he had been in a really bad mood," corrected Rin.

"Don't forget that little wizard twit who kept calling him a vampire. Remember how they reacted to his eyes," snorted Kaede.

Archer looked very confused.

"Why do you call him Gil instead of Gilgamesh? And why hasn't he killed you for it yet?"

"Gil," said Rin calmly, "Is the more reasonable version of Gilgamesh. He was summoned under Saber class while the Archer version currently lives in the Church which is why we are not going anywhere near that place. I know for a fact that bastard Kirei has a phone, and no where in the rules does it state we have to announce our Servants directly to the so called Mediator."

Which was what they did. Rin called the annoying priest. Told him who had summoned what, then hung up before he could say a word to her. She hated the bastard and could care less what he had to say.

Suddenly she looked up from her food.

"Assassin was just summoned. Shiro, you want to call and tell him it's safe to return?" she asked.

"He'll probably be happy that he wasn't picked by mistake," said Shiro.

"Who are you talking about?" asked Saber.

"Shiro and Kaede's adopted dad. He knew about the Grail War, but he didn't want to accidentally get marked so he left the area and went into the warded section of the Academy to avoid getting Command Seals," said Rin.

Archer's eyebrows twitched. The only person who Shiro willingly called Dad should have been dead for years now.

"Hey Twitchy, what's got you so upset?" asked Fred. Rin saw who they were looking at and snorted. Archer was now labeled Twitchy. This should be fun...especially when Rin pounced on him that she knew full well who he was the second she saw him.

Shiro put down his cell phone.

"Dad said he would come home tomorrow. Apparently he's eating out and Sirius said that he's paying."

"Why's his face look like he's having a spasm attack?" asked George, pointing his chopsticks at Archer.

"I have an idea," said Rin.

Archer was in a state of permanent shock it seemed. Rin couldn't help but poke at her Servant while she packed her clothes. While her bounded fields were good, Gil had already mentioned that Gilgamesh could enter them at any time he wanted. No way was she living in a house where Gilgamesh could come after her before she knew he was there!

Besides, the entertainment value of seeing Archer freak out over the fact that they were well aware that the Grail was corrupted and they fully intended to destroy the thing would be fun.

* * *

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, her voice absolutely amused.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Where do you want me to start?" said Archer, his eyebrows twitching rampantly.

He was definitely going to be stuck with the nickname Twitchy by the time this war was over.

"How about the fact I recognized who you were before I knew what your Class was?" said Rin.

Archer's twitch seemed to be a permanent fixture on his face.

"Or the fact that from the way you reacted to Shiro calling his father, that Kiritsugu apparently died the last time you were out?" she continued.

Oh it was worse now!

"Perhaps it's the fact that Shiro is aware of his Reality Marble and happens to be a more competent wizard than he is a magus?" mused Rin.

Archer phased out before she could throw some more curveballs at him. Rin laughed openly at the expression of annoyed disbelief on his face. Who knew Shiro got so uptight once he hit Hero status?

Shiro was helping Rin carry her bags to the house when they ran into Illyasviel.

Kaede, who had come with them, recognized her from the memories Kiritsugu had shared from shortly before the Fourth Grail War.

"Illyasviel von Einzbern," whispered Kaede.

"Hello Onii-san. Onee-san," she said curtseying.

Kaede's eyebrow twitched. Oh Kiritsugu was going to love this... his daughter was the lesser grail!

"Nee-sama," said Kaede in way of greeting. Judging by the surprised look on Illya's face, she had believed they weren't aware of her relation to Kiritsugu.

"Dad's going to love this..." muttered Shiro. He tapped Rin's bags with a portkey spell, and they vanished. If they were going to fight, he would prefer not to hear Rin yelling at him for getting her clothes destroyed by accident.

"Illyasviel von Einzbern... the biological daughter of Kiritsugu the Magus Killer and the previous lesser Grail Irisviel. And judging by that mass of muscle, Master of Berserker," said Kaede continuing.

"You know about me, but I don't know anything about you," said Illya. Her eyes clearly indicated that she wanted to know where this girl had heard of her.

"Dad was rather chatty when he compared me to you, since the castle Homunculi wouldn't let him come near you. Eventually he gave up trying when he realized that the next Grail war would happen sooner than anyone would anticipate and decided to wait until you left the castle yourself to act as the next Einzbern master," explained Kaede.

"Kiritsugu is dead," said Illya, her eyes angry.

"Kiritsugu Emiya the _Magus_ is dead. Kiritsugu Emiya the wizard is very much alive. The only reason he's not in Fuyuki is because he didn't want to get another Command Seal and become a Master again. He'll be back by morning since Assassin was brought out finally," corrected Kaede.

"You're lying!" screamed Illya.

"Dad was hit with a nasty curse from the Grail, and if we hadn't been attending the Magical Academy near Misaki he would have died. Instead they transferred his soul into another body, though the only one they had on hand was one with a wizard's core instead of a Magi one. He did say that once we had something that could handle storming the Einzbern castle that we would come in after you," said Shiro.

"You have to be lying..." said Illya.

"If you don't believe us, come to Fuyuki Park tomorrow once the sun sets," said Kaede.


	12. Chapter 12

Kiritsugu wandered back to the house an hour before Shiro and Kaede had to go to school. Rider was the only one up to greet him. It could have gone better.

Rider tensed when she heard the door open. She went to the front door and found a large gun aimed at her head. The man blinked at her hair color and the odd marking before he asked "You're Kaede's Servant, aren't you?"

"And you are?" she asked, ready to attack.

"The one who owns this house. Where did Kaede put the hangover remedy?" he asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but she left it in the cupboard for when her father returned from drinking all night with Black."

Kiritsugu snorted, before the sound made him wince.

"One does not go drinking with Sirius Black...they go to get a nasty hangover after getting drunk with Black," said Kiritsugu, holding his head in pain.

Rider dropped her stance. This had to be Kiritsugu, because Kaede had remarked that same thing before she left the hangover remedy out for her father.

Once Kiritsugu downed the potion, he waited for the teens to wake up.

"Morning dad," said Shiro, getting up to make breakfast. Saber walked in behind him, and she stiffened the second she saw Kiritsugu.

"Hello Saber," he said dryly. He tried not to yawn.

"So you're their father. Explains how Shiro was able to summon me," she said stiffly.

"If it's any consolation, I quit being a killer for hire and I'm no longer a Magus," he said.

"What?"

Shiro waved his spoon at Kiritsugu.

"Dad is a photographer. Apparently the skills he developed as a sniper work just as well behind a camera lens, and since he had to have his soul transferred to a new body he can brew the potion that allows pictures to move. He's fairly popular."

"I thought you said you weren't a magus anymore."

"I'm not. The body they transferred my soul into was a _wizard_ body. Now instead of circuits I have a magic core," said Kiritsugu, accepting the coffee Kaede handed him. She then handed one to Rin who was yawning widely.

In order to cut down on the arguments, Rin shared a room with Kaede who had a second one next to hers. Archer and Rider could switch off who protected the two female Masters.

Kaede was quick to grab the camera on the counter when Archer got a good look at Kiritsugu sitting down drinking coffee. He blinked after he heard the camera shutter going off.

"What was that for?"

"Blackmail. Besides we needed to finish off this roll anyway," said Kaede.

Archer wondered how they managed to save Kiritsugu's life when he felt something being pressed into his hands. It was a cup of hot tea with just the right amount of sugar and temperature. He sat next to Rin and Saber and waited for Shiro and Kaede to finish cooking breakfast.

"So tell me, Archer was it? How exactly did you end up a hero?" asked Kiritsugu, his eyes narrowing at him.

Archer didn't know why he was asking such a thing, but he told him some of his tale. Unfortunately Kiritsugu happened to notice a commonality in his story.

"You're a Counter Guardian aren't you?" he asked calmly. Archer winced.

"And judging by those looks and that magical signature of his... Rin, what's the standard punishment for Shiro being an idiot?" asked Kaede.

Rin didn't answer, but Archer felt her slap on the back of his head well enough.

"What was that for?!" demanded Archer.

"We are not blind, nor are were idiots. We can clearly see you're a version of Shiro who went too far in the whole 'hero' ideal he has going on," said Kaede rolling her eyes.

"Breakfast is ready," said Shiro. He had trouble looking Archer in the eye knowing it was a future version of himself.

"Fine, if you know that much then would someone explain why the hell Kiritsugu is still alive?" asked Archer annoyed.

"Long story short, Kaede and Shiro attend the Japanese Magical Academy near Misaki city. They happened to notice the curse I had on me from the Grail, and when they told me that the wars would restart early I agreed to have my soul transferred to a new body so that they could study my original in the hopes of finding a way to reverse the damage done to the Holy Grail. So far they've had no luck of it," said Kiritsugu.

"When Dad knew that the Grail wars were going to start again within the next decade, he realized that there was a very high chance that the Einzbern family would send Illya as the next Master for their side since Irisviel was the lesser grail in the last one," said Kaede.

"So you decided to simply wait before you reclaimed Illya?" asked Archer. It was a sound plan, and was far more likely to succeed than trying to reclaim her from the Einzbern castle in Germany directly like had been.

"Which reminds me, Dad, Illya's going to be waiting for us in Fuyuki park after we leave school," said Kaede.

"Let me finish breakfast so I can get a nap in, and we'll go later," said Kiritsugu.

* * *

Shiro, Rin and Kaede all stiffened when they felt the bounded field over the school. Upon further investigation Rin discovered it to be the work of Caster.

Kaede felt sick whenever she got near one of the things holding the field together. Apparently whoever had been summoned as Caster during the war was someone who set Kaede's aura off. And she was particularly sensitive to magical auras, especially since she had left Hogwarts.

Apparently her heritage and being inside what was left of Camelot castle after it was moved was enough to awaken new powers.

Though she still wanted to know what the hell that faerie had meant when he said that the dress she had bought came with an added surprise once he knew of her past. All she knew was that they had given her something along with the armor, and that it needed only a little nudge for it to activate...and it was connected to the True Magic she stood to awaken.

* * *

Illyasviel was waiting in the park like Kaede told her, and Berserker was close by just in case. She wanted answers and she was going to get them one way or another.

Kaede, Shiro and Rin all showed up with their Servants.

"Is it just you and Berserker?" asked Kaede.

Illya sniffed in annoyance.

"Of course, I wouldn't bring Stella or Leysritt with me when I'm just dealing with you three," she said.

"In that case..." said Kaede.

Illyasviel stopped and stared as her father appeared from under a wizard's invisibility cloak... it was actually Kaede's that Lupin had retrieved when he found out Dumbledore still had it.

"D...daddy?" she said in shock. She had heard he died!

"Hello my little snowflake," said Kiritsugu.

"How...how is this possible? I was told you died years ago!" said Illya angrily.

"Kiritsugu the _Magus_ died four years ago. Kiritsugu the _wizard_ was born around the same time his magus body was killed," said Kaede.

"The Grail is corrupted, and when I had Saber destroy it something spilled out and infected my circuits. When I heard that the war was going to start again I knew that Jubstachiet would send you here as the Einzbern Master and possibly as the lesser grail. It was easier to wait until you left the Einzbern castle than to try and break in for the umpteenth time," said Kiritsugu.

"If your really my father then what was the last thing we did before you left for Fuyuki with my mother?" asked Illya.

"We were looking for walnut buds in the snow. You said I cheated because I pointed out a wingnut, which is a type of walnut," said Kiritsugu fondly.

Illyasviel could feel tears in her eyes. This had to be her father...no one else knew of that little game they had played, let alone the fact she had accused him of cheating right before he left.

She barreled into him crying.

"Daddy..."

"So does this mean she'll be staying in the house with us?" asked Shiro.

"Let's hope not... feeding Saber, Rider and Archer is hard enough on the budget...can you imagine trying to feed _him_ as well?" asked Kaede sweatdropping, as she looked at Berserker.

Shiro winced.

* * *

Illyasviel returned to the smaller Einzbern castle, if only to keep her grandfather from becoming suspicious about Kiritsugu's survival. She found it funny that her father had become a magical photographer and had given up his former job as a mercenary for hire.

Kaede took solace in the fact that Illya no longer wanted to kill her for 'replacing' her as Kiritsugu's daughter. Now she looked at the girl as a little sister, since she was two years older than Kaede and a year older than Shiro.

So long as they weren't the ones feeding Berserker, Kaede didn't mind not sharing a house with Illya just yet...though they now had a standing invitation to the castle.

* * *

It had already been a week and Kaede was getting, well antsy. So far most of the Masters were laying low, if only because of the unofficial alliance between Illyasviel and the Emiya siblings plus Rin. And aside from the random hit and run attacks by Lancer, which made no sense at all, Caster and Assassin had yet to show up.

At least until Shinji cornered Kaede on the roof during lunch about an alliance.

"So which Servant do you have?" she asked with a sniff. She wouldn't deny she was channeling Gilgamesh at that moment.

"Assassin," said Shinji proudly.

"Which means Sakura summoned Assassin and you forced her to hand her Servant over," said Kaede flatly.

"Assassin is _mine_," growled Shinji.

"Then why does she look ready to kill you the first chance she has?" asked Kaede. Shinji turned to find his pissed off Servant ready to skewer him.

She wasn't Hassan-Il-Sabbah, and she wasn't the one Archer had mentioned. However something about the girl set off her maternal instincts.

"I told you to stay astralized you little bitch!" said Shinji, about to slap his Servant.

He found himself hanging by his throat as Rider had him pinned to the fence.

Kaede walked up to Assassin.

"Hi, I'm Kaede. What's your name?" she asked gently.

"Jack."

Kaede put the pieces together from that name alone. There was only one murderer in history she knew of that was named Jack who could fit the role of assassin, and that was Jack the Ripper.

"Well Jackie, how would you feel rescuing your true Master from that hellhole she calls home?" asked Kaede.

"What do I have to do?" asked Jack.

"Ignore the fact I'm burning Shinji's little book and having Rider feed him to something poisonous," said Kaede.

A quick fire spell and Shinji found himself without a defense against a pissed off Rider and protective Kaede.

All Rider had to hear was that the little bastard raped his sister, and she was more than happy to kill him.

Before Sakura left for home, Kaede had Rider kidnap her while Assassin followed. It took Kiritsugu an hour to explain to the terrified girl what they were doing and why.

* * *

"Ugh... it looks like you were infested with those damn worms..." said Kaede.

Sakura sat quietly while they tried to figure out how to free her from the Matou family since Shinji was officially dead.

"Is there any way to remove them?" asked Rin.

"Not without literally ripping her apart to get to them. One of them is firmly inside her heart, among other areas," said Kaede. She was using a basic healer spell to see where the worms were.

"Would using Avalon help?"

"We couldn't be sure that we've gotten rid of the worms entirely, and it would leave you vulnerable. No, there is a much simpler solution though it would mean that she would have to pretend to be dead until we hypnotize everyone into believing she's a transfer," said Kaede.

"And that would be?" asked Archer.

"Same thing we did with Dad when we found out his very circuits were turning against him. You don't have anything against being turned into a witch do you?" asked Kaede.

Sakura's eyes went wide.

"A witch?"

"You'd lose your circuits and any crest you have, but you'd get a core instead. And if we time it just right then we can keep Zouken from getting his hands on you again. He only has legal rights to you as long as you're a Magus...he can't keep you if we make you a witch, and the body you'd be in wouldn't show _any_ of the signs of what Shinji or those Crest Worms did to you," said Kaede.

Sakura was overwhelmed.

"What exactly do I have to do?" she asked. She hated living in the Matou mansion, and that accursed worm pit.

"Let's call Sirius...he should be willing to adopt you as a Black. That will freeze out Zouken since we're turning you into a witch. And we'll need a piece of you to tie your soul so we can transfer it..." said Kaede.

"How about my hand? I don't want to lose Assassin," said Sakura.

"Perfect. It has your DNA and your signature since we killed Shinji earlier."

* * *

Two days later Sakura Matou's body was found torn to pieces near the church. Her hand was completely cut off. Her friends mourned her death while the teachers tried to calm the students down about the mystery deaths of Shinji and his sister.

Cassiopeia Natasha Black, the adopted daughter of Sirius Black and new student at the Japanese Magical Academy, slipped into Sakura's spot at the school. A few subtle spells and no one realized that she looked nearly identical to the recently 'deceased' girl.

Rin was just happy to have her sister back and safe away from Zouken's clutches.


	13. Chapter 13

Kaede felt like openly throwing up at the feeling of the barrier around the school. It was disgusting, but more than that it felt _wrong_ against her Magus senses. She could hear Medusa croon a little, rubbing her back, but it didn't help. Jack and Cassi (formerly Sakura) weren't nearly as affected. Then again, after swapping her soul Cassi felt so much lighter...all the horrible things her 'grandfather' had forced her body to endure were quickly becoming a passing memory.

"Kaede, maybe you should head home," said Shiro in concern.

"No...somehow I get the feeling this will only get worse the longer it's here," she said. Though she nearly threw up again as she breathed. This boundary field was really bad for her health.

And that was before the damn thing was active.

Kiritsugu was again out of the city when the barrier finally did activate, however he was present during the counter attack Caster had on his house.

To say he was less than happy with the fact she had mistaken Kaede for Saber and almost caused her Servant to vanish was a severe understatement.

He was pissed as _hell_.

There was a very good reason why he had wanted nothing to do with the fifth Grail War after surviving the fourth, and it had little to do with what happened with Caster last time, or the fact that the damn thing was the Magi equivalent of a Monkey's paw.

Which was why the minute he found out Kaede had been taken (Medusa had followed quickly after her, not wanting her Master to suffer one of her relapses, as Shiro had warned her about) he went straight to the Einzbern castle on the outskirts of town and brought his daughter to the heavily warded area of Sirius's house just outside Fuyuki. It wouldn't give them much protection against say, someone of Saber's caliber, but it was better than the protections around his home until he could upgrade the things and it would give them enough warning to escape to one of the many predetermined locations.

One of which was the school itself. Too far for a Servant to go and it would alert the Church that the wars were getting out of hand and bring them down on Kotomine for certain. He was supposed to keep them contained in Fuyuki after all...cleaning up after the last one had been a bitch and a half from what he heard.

* * *

Kaede shivered. In less than three days the school had been attacked directly, Archer had somehow managed to break his contract with Rin, and she had been mistaken for her grandmother by Caster and captured.

She was bound by the wrists and in a mock parody of a wedding dress. Every time Caster raked her eyes on her prize, she felt like something slimy had slithered across her skin.

Kaede happened to spy Archer who was looking at her expression oddly. He hadn't been there when Shiro warned Medusa and Arturia about Kaede's minor episodes before she was made to go to therapy by Gil.

The female Servants all promised to keep an eye out just in case, but it was rather rare for her to have one.

However what Caster was putting her through could trigger a relapse if she became aware of it.

Right now Kaede was wishing to every higher power she could think of barring the gods that Gil hadn't been reclaimed by his Archer half...he would have dealt with this witch rather quickly if he had been around.

As it was she took some small comfort that Medusa had escaped having their contract broken...instead it appeared that the dagger (which she would later learn was called 'Rule Breaker') had destroyed the original contract she had with Gil, somehow missing Medusa's command seals entirely. How that happened she had no idea, but she took it as a blessing that it was.

She still had no idea where Gil's command seals were, since she never actually _used_ them. He was mostly kept in line via the dragon's head she had learned to manifest by watching a certain series repeatedly until she figured out the trick of it.

Gil didn't know whether to hate the series '_Sekirei'_ for giving her the idea, or to simply enjoy the fact that the creators had nothing against fan service and a lot of it, along with exposing cleavage frequently.

Why those alien chicks never thought to get at least some armor or armored clothing he had no idea. However he could care less about that, seeing as how he was a guy after all.

(Didn't stop Kaede from braining him with a ladle when she caught him ogling the more...endowed...characters of the show during a fight scene.)

Kaede shivered when Caster dragged a long, manicured finger down her exposed back. Archer frowned. Unlike Medea he could see the expression on the girl's face and it was one that made his hands itch to skewer the Witch of Betrayal. Something about this scene was horribly wrong, and it had more to do than the fact that Medusa was still around. What the hell had this girl's life been like if she was reacting that badly?

It had been bad for Arturia being captured and put through mental torture... how bad was it for Kaede?

* * *

Archer was the only one in the room when he actually noticed something was wrong. It took him a few seconds to realize what, but when he did he reacted accordingly.

Kaede was starting to go through the initial stages of shock, and despite how he felt about the fact she had been captured instead of Saber, he wasn't going to let her die.

Archer quickly removed the shackles around her wrists and was startled to discover that they appeared burned...how was that possible?

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Caster annoyed.

"She's going into shock. If I don't do something fast you'll be down a hostage and have a harder time capturing the real Saber, let alone this girl's original Servant."

Archer had let it be known that she could summon Gilgamesh, and Caster wanted him badly as one of her pawns. She had no idea what the Servant was like, and Archer neglected to mention that Gilgamesh would be far more likely to kill her than to serve her.

Caster's "Master", who wasn't the one who actually summoned her, examined her eyes carefully.

"He's right. She's going into the initial stages of shock and with her current condition it would be child's play for that to kill her off," he confirmed.

Kaede's eyes were very dilated, like there was a poison in her blood. Her body was feverish and it was clear that if he didn't do something to cool her off she would start going into convulsions. She looked like she was barely holding down the contents of her stomach as it was.

Soichiro noticed something else.

"Did you add some sort of slow-burning spell to those shackles?" he asked.

"No. Why would I bother?" she asked.

"Her wrists are heavily burned and there is scar damage."

"What are those shackles made of?" asked Archer. Though his structural analysis said they were made of cold iron, nothing special.

"How should I know? I found them in the basement here and put them to use," said Caster crossly.

"If she's in this state, one of us will have to keep an eye on her at all times," said Soichiro. He didn't actually care about his student, but he wasn't going to lose a hostage because they were being lazy.

"Or we can use another method," said Archer.

He made a cage of plain swords, with the edges pointed inward at the girl. She wouldn't be able to leave, but anyone rescuing her would have even more difficulty avoiding the sharp edge. Unless they had Shiro with them, which made it a moot point.

Archer noted that with a cage around her, her breathing seemed to calm down just a little. What the hell happened to her for her to feel safe in a cage of swords?

Seeing the look on her face, Soichiro calmly mentioned an odd notice about Kaede Emiya for the male teachers.

"Interesting fact about Kaede... she's not allowed around any adult males without an escort from her boyfriend, Shiro, or Tohsaka."

Archer raised an eyebrow. That raised several alarms in his head, none of them good.

Archer delayed Medusa and Lancer long enough for Rin and Shiro to make it below. Assassin and Saber kept Medea busy, and eventually he let them through.

However, this was just a ruse. He couldn't let them leave with Kaede, not in her condition. All it would take would be a single word to Gilgamesh or Zouken of her current state and they would descend upon her like wolves on a lamb ready for slaughter.

So he killed Medea before the others had a chance to...then made off with the still unconscious Kaede.

It would take them hours to figure out what happened.

* * *

Kaede felt sick to her stomach. She knew someone was in the room, but for some reason she could care less since she also could tell it wasn't that witch or that bastard teacher of Shiro's.

That person gently guided her to a trash can and helped keep her from having her hair in her face while she threw up what little she had in her stomach.

It took her a few moments to realize it was Archer...and that he had some cold, clean water.

"Easy. You were reacting badly to the shackles for some reason, so I had to wait before I could kidnap you," he said.

"Fairy magic," she said, once her throat cleared thanks to the water.

"I figured as much, though I couldn't tell why you had it."

"My armor, they tied it directly to my magic. They neglected to mention that it would make me vulnerable to iron. Then again, the ones who made the armor were fae. They probably didn't care and thought I would have enough sense to get away once I found out."

"Instead you find out the worst way possible, by accident while you're being a hostage for Medea, Witch of Betrayal," said Archer, realizing what she meant. He was rubbing soothing circles on her back, letting her calm down.

"Why did you react so badly to being held captive?" he asked. It had been bothering him for a while.

"I had an abusive past. Gil saved me from it. I went through years of therapy, but I still have relapses. Shiro warned Saber and Rider, but I thought he warned you with them," said Kaede.

"I was talking with Kiritsugu when he called them into another room," said Archer.

"Probably didn't know how I would react around you since you're a guy," said Kaede. She was starting to breath normally, though she was still really, really weak. She didn't think she could walk at this rate.

"Easy. You've been kept in that basement for the better part of three days, and you weren't given any food or water. Combined with your reaction to the iron you won't be getting out of bed for a few hours at least. You should just get some sleep. It's unlikely anyone will come here after the mess Gilgamesh left of the castle. I heard Illyasviel was furious that he had mistaken one of her guards for her," said Archer.

Kaede didn't feel like arguing. She was still rather sick. Archer left the waste basket near the bed for her, before letting her get back to sleep.

It was easier for him to lure Shiro here when his hostage certainly wasn't able to get up, and was too weak to just up and leave. Archer did, however, manage to make a simple soup she was able to hold down. Unlike Medea he wasn't heartless, and he did feel somewhat bad for not getting her out of there sooner.

It was because of her that he had been able to talk to Kiritsugu for once while he was alive, and that his alternate actually had a chance of avoiding his particular future.

Besides, the memory of Arturia fainting from the knowledge that her _granddaughter_ was dating and betrothed to Gilgamesh was one of the funniest memories he had of a Grail War!

* * *

"Do we have any idea where Archer took her?" asked Shiro in concern.

"None. Archer wasn't exactly talkative when he grabbed her," said Saber scowling. That bastard stole her granddaughter away when it was very clear the poor girl had been tortured by Caster for nearly the entire time she was there. Though she did give him credit when she realized that the sword cage was his work.

It doubled as a way to keep Caster away from Kaede and kept her safe from Caster's Master at the same time.

Shiro was beyond alarmed when he realized that there was bits of skin in the shackles...and that his structural analysis confirmed it was his sister. From what little Caster had let slip, Kaede had to be put into the sword cage because she had almost gone into what Archer and her Master said was 'shock'.

Which meant Kaede would be vulnerable for at least two days, if she were lucky. Not something you'd want people like Zouken or Gilgamesh to be aware of when they were out for your blood.

"Why did the shackles affect her?" asked Rin. They had brought them back in hopes of using a tracking spell.

"What are they made out of?" asked Saber.

"Iron, mostly. They're at least a few hundred years old, probably brought when the Church was built," said Shiro immediately.

Saber paled.

"Cold iron?" she asked.

"I think so."

"You once said she had fairy armor, correct? Given to her freely by one of the fae?" asked Saber to Shiro.

"Yeah. She bought it for some ball after they tried to rope her into a contest and kept it when Gil said it had special magic. Apparently she made a really good impression on them," said Rin.

"Is it tied to her specifically?"

"I'm fairly certain it was. I certainly couldn't get the magic to work," said Rin. She had tried it on as a lark. Nothing happened, even when she tried to overload it with prana.

"Fairy magic reacts badly to cold iron. When I was first given Avalon and Excalibur, I found that I would get sick from touching it for too long. I've never dared to hold it more than five minutes, but it wasn't pleasant," said Saber.

Rin, Shiro and Kiritsugu all paled.

"Iron affected you?" said Rin.

"I believe that even though I have no fae's blood in me, I had enough contact with them that their biggest weakness got passed on. Thanks to Avalon it wasn't immediately obvious, but I made a point to avoid it on principle," confirmed Saber.

"This is bad. From the amount of skin I saw on those shackles Caster definitely had her in them. I'm betting Archer noticed she was getting worse and put her into the cage to keep her from getting too sick," said Shiro grimly.

"I'm just surprised he bothered at all. Archer wasn't exactly a big fan of the fact that she was here," said Medusa sourly.

"Where did he take her though?" asked Rin. That was what bugged her the most. They knew he had taken her to draw Shiro out for some reason, but Archer had left before saying where they were going.

Suddenly Illya appeared with Sirius guarding her in dog form. She had been staying with him and Cassi since Kiritsugu had 'kidnapped' his daughter from a local park since he didn't want her to be anywhere near Fuyuki when war was getting bad. The last thing he needed was for Illya to be targeted because she was the lesser grail.

"Alright, which one of you has been going into _my_ forest?" she asked crossly.

"What?"

"The boundary wards are tied to the lesser grail. They've been telling me someone has trespassed into my area and has not left, and I want to know which one of you is missing," she said flatly.

"He must have gone to the castle because he knew it would be abandoned," said Shiro.

"Makes sense. Aside from the damage Gilgamesh did trying to find Illya, no's there. Even Stella moved out of the place once we told her where Illya was," said Rin.

"Who?"

"Archer. Caster captured him and mistook Kaede for Saber. From what we can tell she was tortured physically and possibly mentally for three days. Archer nabbed her before we could return home with her," explained Shiro.

"Kaede-chan was tortured?" said Illya, eyes wide.

Her eyes fell on the shackles on the table. Medusa was openly growling.

"Apparently Caster had these shackles, or found them in the Church. What the faeries neglected to mention and _Saber_ forgot to warn us about was that those blessed by faeries inherit their weakness to iron," said Shiro.

"Hmm. Three springs of mistletoe woven around the wrist have been known to counter the effects or a black stone," said Illya.

Everyone stopped and stared at her.

"What? You think Einzbern homunculi got their white hair and red eyes from the coining process? Our original ancestor made a deal with the fae centuries ago and they gave us the original recipe for homunculi. We don't suffer the effects anymore but their touch still lingers. It was mostly dealings with the Unseelie though," said Illya.

"Considering the main Einzbern castle is in the Black Forests of Germany, I'm not surprised," said Kiritsugu dryly.


	14. Chapter 14

Archer was relieved to note that Kaede was at least able to walk a little once she had slept for a full day. His biggest relief was the fact she had been able to keep down the food he had made. Apparently whatever made her sick around cold iron allowed her to have a slightly faster recovery rate.

What he didn't know was that Gilgamesh sensed Kaede and was heading their way. Since he was King he took his time to find her.

Shiro, Saber, and Rider all arrived in time to almost run into Gilgamesh. Instead Gilgamesh wandered around the castle, trying to find the source of the tug while Shiro challenged his future self.

Kaede managed to get to one of the balconies, though her body was still technically too weak to be up and about. If Archer had seen her he would have been annoyed. Part of the reason why he had taken her instead of Rin was because caring for a sick girl was infinitely easier than listening to Rin bitch to him about tying her up...even if he was well aware that she actually enjoyed it from his memories as Shiro.

She watched the battle silently as Shiro finally managed to get through to Archer that he was more stubborn than the Servant, though how that was possible when Archer _was_ Shiro was something she didn't feel like thinking about.

She felt someone come up from behind her, and her eyes widened. It was Lancer. Why was he here?

"Sorry about this girlie, but my Master doesn't want you around to ruin his plans," said Lancer.

Kaede's eyes widened in shock, before she grabbed something from her Gate and slammed it against Lancer.

"What are you..."

"_Complete Download," _she said and used the only pieces of her magic she could access and _dragged_ Lancer and all of his data into the card.

Amethyst, which mostly played the part of her necklace since she had hit it with a shrinking charm, chimed with a happy voice **"Okay! But your magic reserves are almost gone you know. Any more and you'll be suffering some major backlash!"**

"I don't have a choice Amethyst! Make sure he can't get out until this mess is cleared up!" hissed Kaede.

"**Sure~!"** said Amethyst. A few minutes in, and she chimed again.

"**Download complete! Cu Cuhainn is now stored into the Archives until you're able to bring him out."**

"What are you doing up?" Archer asked accusingly.

Kaede openly rolled her eyes.

"You really thought I would stay asleep with the racket you were making, idiot?" she said annoyed.

"And why did you use magic? Last I checked you were so drained you could barely make a spark!"

"That was prana. You didn't notice that my core was rapidly recovering once I was away from the iron," she countered.

"Either way you should still be asleep, or at least not on your feet," said Archer irritably.

"Why do you care anyway?" asked Kaede, raising an eyebrow.

Archer had no answer to that. For some reason all of his protective instincts raised whenever the girl was in danger and he had no idea why. He was a cynical, apathetic bastard. Why should one girl make a difference.?

"Well isn't this adorable? Having a lover's spat are we?" sneered an arrogant voice.

Kaede froze. She knew that voice...but the tone was far too wrong.

Gilgamesh. This had to be his Archer half. The one she had been told to avoid by Gil repeatedly because he wouldn't exactly be as kind as Gil was.

Kaede was too weak to get off the balcony, and Gilgamesh would kill anyone who could free her.

Rider didn't care. She made it up to where her Master was...only to be skewered by Gilgamesh.

"Ah, ah, ah. I didn't say you could have the girlie here," he sneered.

Kaede felt her tears come down as she saw Medusa starting to fade. She brought out a second card.

"Amethyst, complete download. I am not letting that damn Grail have her," said Kaede upset.

"**You do realize that if I do that your reserves are going to be so low that you won't be able to actually fight for a while right?"**

"I'm not losing Rider!"

"**Downloading Rider: Medusa into Class Card. Download Complete...Medusa added to the Queen's Court."**

"Queen's what?"

"**Error...Information regarding Court of the Queen restricted until aria is selected. Sorry, Kaede-chan, can't tell you about the special feature the Faeries added until you make an aria to release it~!"** said Amethyst cheerfully.

"I knew they added something when they gave me this armor," muttered Kaede. Still, she had three options with her low reserves at this point.

Jump and hope like hell _someone_ caught her. Try installing a card and hope her energy could handle a brief drain with Medusa taken out. Or let Gilgamesh catch her and try to bring Gil out.

She eyed the ground. It wasn't that far down, and Sirius knew spells to heal broken bones. If nothing else she could have her leg bones removed and regrown overnight.

Archer looked at her...and had a bad feeling which of the three she would attempt. When he realized she planned to jump over the railing he cursed and started running. He barely managed to slide under her in time to catch her.

He aimed a rather explosive weapon at the ceiling where Gilgamesh was and shot it off.

* * *

Saber, Shiro and Archer all ran like hell out of the Einzbern castle, Kaede out cold on Archer's back. Once they were safely away from the place, they slowed down long enough for Shiro to check on Kaede.

"She's feverish. What the hell happened to her?"

"At most she was just inside the shackles with Medea getting a little too close for comfort whenever she was down there. When I noticed she was going into shock I got her out of the shackles and into a cage. She was never actually tortured outside the effects of the iron," said Archer flatly.

"And while you had her in the castle?" asked Saber, hand on her sword.

"She mostly slept in one of the beds. She was able to keep down simple foods once she slept for a full day though. I grabbed her instead of Rin because she was more vulnerable after that iron made her so sick. Besides it was easier than listening to Rin complain about the fact I tied her up," said Archer. Seeing Shiro wince he knew the boy fully agreed with him on that point.

* * *

Shiro tried to put Avalon inside Kaede, but for some reason the sheathe refused to be absorbed into her. Not even Saber could figure out what was going on.

Archer had an idea though.

"I noticed a lot of smaller sprites while we were running. Maybe the faeries have something planned?" he suggested.

Rin was twitching. First she lost her Servant, then he grabs another girl, and finally he shows more concern for a sick Master than he did for her! Just what was it about Kaede that made people like a cynical Shiro actually care about her well being?!

When she finally asked that of Saber, she took a good look at Rin, then at the still sleeping Kaede before informing her that her Charisma ranking was much, much higher than Rin's. Or, as Shiro would put it only to be hit with multiple Gandr curses later, the downside of being a bossy Tsundere.

Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, was traveling far beyond her boundaries for an important mission.

Kaede Emiya, the Golden Queen, was ill. Her magic was rebelling against the iron she had been trapped in before she could learn the danger. The shackles had been so old that some of it even got into her bloodstream.

She would need faerie help in order to survive long enough to live through this war.

They had planned to give her this once she had been married, but she would need this boost in order to bring her king back to her.

Arturia spotted her first, and her reaction was to be expected.

"Nimue!" she yelped.

Everyone in the dining room turned to look who was outside. The Lady of the Lake was inside the pond.

"_Hello Arturia. I see you are fitting in well here,"_ said Nimue pleasantly.

"Why are you here?" asked Arturia, once she got over her shock.

"_I am the voice of the courts. We heard about what happened to our current Voice with the mortals and we have decided to act. Kaede is to be your replacement as the next one to carry the dragon lineage," _said Nimue.

"She has the dragon core?" asked Arturia in shock.

Nimue shook her head.

"_She has a stronger core waiting to wake up. Her spirit form is that of a holy dragon, so naturally we're interested in her living past this silly game the Magi have cooked up."_

Shiro rolled his eyes.

"We had a feeling Kaede's animal form was a dragon. We didn't know which one though," he said.

"_I mostly came here to deliver a new sheathe. Avalon belongs to the Dragon King. Kaede is going to make her own legend...she doesn't need to be dragged into your own by using your Phantasms."_

"So that's why it refused to work for her," said Shiro.

"But Kaede's sleeping right now," said Archer.

Nimue turned to him with a smile.

"_You would make an excellent knight."_

"I'm a Counter Guardian, not a knight. And I doubt Alaya would let one of it's cleaners go,"said EMIYA sourly.

"_Let's see what happens once Kaede is able to sustain a Servant again, shall we?"_ she said mysteriously.

Shiro winced at the water on the floor, before he pulled out his wand to cast a drying charm. Saber put her hand on his arm.

"Wait until she leaves. Nimue is a water Faerie under the Seelie courts. She'll need the water to return back to the pond," advised Saber.

Shiro nodded.

* * *

_In Kaede's dream..._

"Hey sleepy, when are you planning to get up?" asked a familiar voice.

"_Gil? Where are you?"_

"I'm right here. Thanks to that Card the old vampire gave you I was sucked into someplace other than the Grail. Though it would take something else to bring all those you downloaded out again."

"_What's needed?"_

"I believe I can answer that. Hello Kaede-chan," said a water faerie.

"_Who are you?"_

"I am Nimue, the same one who gave your grandmother her armaments. We were going to save this for after the war, but thanks to Caster we had to accelerate our plans," said Nimue.

"_The Lady of the Lake."_

"Indeed. As it stands, we need to get you back on your feet before Gilgamesh finds you. Or worse, Zouken learns of your illness. We can't have you taken out because of a traitorous witch," said Nimue.

She brought out a gold sheathe, similar in many ways to Avalon. However instead of just blue enamel, it had silver, red and purples. The faeries were well aware of her color preferences.

"This...is the Praesidia. Unlike Avalon, this sheathe can heal multiple targets and shield up to eight people. It's the ultimate defense against all magical attacks, baring a divine one. In which case you would need your King for help."

Nimue pulled out a sword, similar to Excalibur.

"This...is Excaliburn. It is a sword that will purify the sins of the past and bring new hope. It can even break the contracts made and remake the world anew. It is the prayer of 'Hope' for everyone who deserves it."

"_So I could break, say, Archer's contract with Alaya and turn him into one of my Knights?"_

"The idea of stealing a Counter Guardian from the world was too amusing to pass up for the courts. Once they learned of EMIYA's true nature, they were all to happy to add that magic to this sword."

"_What was the feature you added to Amethyst? I never figured that out."_

Nimue smirked. Kaede had the feeling she was like a female Gilgamesh in some ways. Then again, she was a faerie.

"Let's just say that you now have more in common with your brother than before. But we never picked an aria for it."

Kaede blinked.

"_Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me."_

"The Court of the Golden Queen. Quite fitting for the woman who will become Gilgamesh's wife. After all, what is an English Queen without her knights?"

Kaede made a face. She hated being reminded of the fact she was English by birth.

"_And by knights you mean Servants. Is that why Zelretch gave me that staff?"_

"We do not dictate the Wizard Marshal. Though it made it easier to give you this little surprise. Like your grandmother, you will have your court. As it stands, you already have two 'loaded' into it."

"_Medusa and Lancer,"_ said Kaede.

"And don't forget your king, who is waiting for his Queen to get up and finally bring out her true power," said Nimue.

Kaede could feel Gil's hand on her cheek.

"It's time to get up Kae-chan. If you don't, then Gilgamesh will find you and he'll stop at nothing once he realizes what you possess. He can't steal your power," he said.

"_I miss you Gil."_

"When you wake up to your full potential, you'll find me again. But right now you have to get out of bed and eat something," he said gently, "Remember, it was because I grew up around you that I didn't turn into a total jerk like Archer."

"And now, Kaede...it's time to wake up."

Kaede woke up with a gasp. She had been out cold for nearly two days since they left the castle.

The Lady of the Lake was gone. However she left behind the sheathe which rested on Kaede. The second she woke up, the sheathe was absorbed into her body. She felt most of her sickness abate, though her magic levels were still crappy. She wouldn't be casting any spells or using any prana for another day at least. But she would be able to move a little and hold food down.


End file.
